Ontario College of Teachers v. Stelpstra, 2014 ONOCT 98

DISCIPLINE COMMITTEE OF THE ONTARIO COLLEGE OF TEACHERS

Citation: Ontario College of Teachers v Stelpstra, 2014 ONOCT 98

Date: 2014-11-13

IN THE MATTER OF the Ontario College of Teachers Act, 1996, and the Regulation (Ontario Regulation 437/97) thereunder;

AND IN THE MATTER OF a discipline proceeding against

Alfred Douglas Stelpstra, a member of the Ontario College of Teachers.

PANEL: Pauline Smart, Chair Alexander (Sandy) Bass, OCT

Hanno Weinberger, OCT

BETWEEN: ) Eli Mogil,

) McCarthy Tétrault LLP, ) for Ontario College of Teachers,

ONTARIO COLLEGE OF TEACHERS ) assisted by Bev Hodsdon,

) Law Clerk

• and – )

ALFRED DOUGLAS STELPSTRA ) Alfred Douglas Stelpstra,

(CERTIFICATE #251850) ) Self-represented, but not present

) Rebecca Durcan,

) Steinecke Maciura LeBlanc, ) Independent Legal Counsel ) ) Heard: November 13, 2014

DECISION, REASONS FOR DECISION AND ORDERS

This matter came on before a panel of the Discipline Committee (the “Committee”) on November 13, 2014 at the Ontario College of Teachers (the “College”) at Toronto.

A Notice of Hearing, dated January 22, 2013 was served on Alfred Douglas Stelpstra (the “Member”), requesting his presence on February 28, 2013 to set a date for a hearing, and specifying the charges. The hearing was subsequently set for November 13, 2014.

The Member was not in attendance.

THE ALLEGATIONS

The allegations against the Member in the Notice of Hearing, (Exhibit 1) dated January 22, 2013 are as follows:

IT IS ALLEGED that the Member is guilty of professional misconduct as defined in subsection 30(2) of the Ontario College of Teachers Act, 1996 (the “Act”), in that:

(a) he failed to maintain the standards of the profession, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(5);

(b) he failed to comply with the Education Act, Revised Statutes of Ontario, 1990, chapter E.2, and specifically subsection 264(1) thereof or the Regulations made under that Act, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(15);

(c) he committed acts that, having regard to all the circumstances, would reasonably be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(18); and

(d) he engaged in conduct unbecoming a member, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(19).

Counsel for the College advised the Committee that an agreement had been reached on the facts and introduced an Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea (Exhibit 2), which provides as follows:

AGREED STATEMENT OF FACTS

1. Alfred Douglas Stelpstra is a member of the Ontario College of Teachers. Attached as Exhibit “A” is a copy of the Ontario College of Teachers Registered Member Information respecting the Member.

2. Since approximately 2000, and except for one week in approximately 2008 when the Member was supply teaching, the Member has not been involved in the teaching profession.

3. On March 9, 2010, the Kingston Police executed a search warrant at the Member’s home as part of a province-wide sweep based on the work of the “Provincial Strategy to Protect Children from Abuse and Exploitation on the Internet”, a partnership between the Ontario Provincial Police Child Exploitation Section and eighteen (18) municipal police services, including the Kingston Police (the “Police”).

4. The Police found many pictures and videos of child pornography on the Member’s computer, as set out in the Final Report of Detective John Farrugia of the Durham Regional Police Service and attached as Exhibit “B”. If called to testify, Detective Farrugia would state that the references to “Category 1” files in his Report refer to files that have been identified as child pornography in an international child pornography database used by police services around the world.

5. On or about March 10, 2010, the Member was charged with one count of possession of child pornography, contrary to subsection 163.1(4) of the Criminal Code of Canada.

6. On or about June 4, 2012, in the Ontario Court of Justice, the Member was granted a stay of proceedings under Section 24(1) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as a result of a violation of his Section 11(b) Charter rights. Attached hereto and marked as Exhibit “C” is a copy of the Certified Court Information.

7. On July 23, 2010, the Member signed an Agreement and Undertaking not to teach or seek employment for which a certificate of qualification and registration is required until the College disposes of this complaint. Attached hereto and marked as Exhibit “D” is a copy of the Agreement and Undertaking.

8. By this document, the Member admits, for the purposes of this proceeding only, the truth of the facts and exhibits referred to in paragraphs 1 to 7 above (the “Admitted Facts”).

GUILTY PLEA

9. The Member hereby acknowledges that the Admitted Facts referred to above constitute conduct which is professional misconduct and admits the allegations of professional misconduct against him, being more particularly breaches of Ontario Regulation 437/97 subsections 1(5), 1(15), 1(18) and 1(19).

10. By this document the Member states that:

(a) he understands fully the nature of the allegations against him;

(b) he understands that by signing this document he is consenting to the evidence as set out in the Admitted Facts being presented to the Discipline Committee;

(c) he understands that by pleading guilty to the allegations, he is waiving the right to require the College to prove the case against him and the right to have a hearing;

(d) he understands that depending on the penalty ordered by the Discipline Committee, the decision of the Committee and a summary of its reasons, including reference to his name, may be published in the official publication of the College;

(e) he understands that any agreement between him and counsel for the College with respect to the penalty proposed in this document does not bind the Discipline Committee;

(f) he understands and acknowledges that he is executing this Agreement voluntarily, unequivocally, and without the advice of legal counsel.

11. In light of the admitted facts and circumstances and the plea of guilt, the Ontario College of Teachers and the Member submit that the Discipline Committee find the Member guilty of professional misconduct.

DECISION

Having considered the evidence, onus and standard of proof, and the submissions made by Counsel for the College, the Committee finds that the facts support a finding of professional misconduct. In particular, the Committee finds that the Member committed acts of professional misconduct as alleged, more particularly breaches of Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsections 1(5), 1(15), 1(18) and 1(19).

REASONS FOR DECISION

The Member acknowledged that the Admitted Facts referred to above constitute conduct which is professional misconduct and pleaded guilty to the allegations of professional misconduct against him. The Committee accepted the Member’s guilty plea and the facts in the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea.

On March 9, 2010, while executing a search warrant at the Member’s home, the Police found many pictures and videos of child pornography on the Member’s computer, which files have been identified as child pornography in an international child pornography database used by police services around the world.

By being in possession of child pornography, the Committee finds that the Member committed acts of professional misconduct as alleged, more particularly breaches of Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsections 1(5), 1(15), 1(18) and 1(19).

JOINT SUBMISSION ON PENALTY

Through a Joint Submission on Penalty (Exhibit 4), Counsel for the College and the Member jointly submitted that the appropriate penalty to be imposed by the Discipline Committee in this matter would be that the Committee:

1. direct the Registrar of the Ontario College of Teachers to immediately revoke the Certificate of Qualification and Registration of the Member, which Certificate the Member is to immediately surrender to the Registrar; and

2. direct that there be publication of the findings and Order of the Committee in summary form, in the official publication of the College, Professionally Speaking/Pour parler profession.

SUBMISSIONS RE: PUBLICATION

The parties agreed that the findings and order of the Committee should be published in summary form in the official publication of the College Professionally Speaking/Pour parler profession. The parties had not agreed on whether or not the Member’s name should be published.

Counsel for the College argued that the Member’s name should be published in Professionally Speaking/Pour parler profession. Counsel stated that the Member’s behaviour was at the extreme end of the spectrum. He also argued that the public would be alarmed to the extreme if the Member’s certificate was not revoked and the Member’s name was not published. Counsel provided the Committee with a case with similar facts to support his argument with respect to penalty, including publication.

The Committee received a letter from the Member (Exhibit 5) requesting that his name not be published in order to lessen “the collateral damage this event has already had on [my] family”.

PENALTY DECISION

The Committee makes the following order as to penalty:

1. The Registrar is directed to revoke the Certificate of Qualification and Registration of the Member.

2. The findings and Order of the Committee shall be published in summary form, with the name of the Member, in the official publication of the College, Professionally Speaking/Pour parler profession.

REASONS FOR PENALTY DECISION

The Committee considered and accepted the Joint Submission on Penalty. The Committee agreed that revocation was the appropriate penalty for conduct of this nature.

The Member was in possession of child pornography. He was subsequently charged with one count of possession of child pornography. The Member was granted a stay of proceedings under section 24(1) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as a result of a violation of his section 11(b) Charter rights. The fact that the Member was granted a stay of proceedings does not negate the fact that he was in possession of child pornography on his home computer.

Possession of child pornography is a crime against children and perpetuates a market which thrives on the abuse of children. The Committee finds that the Member, by possessing child pornography, is not suitable to be in a position of trust and authority over children. The Member has brought the profession into disrepute and has lost the trust of the public.

This Member has forfeited the privilege of holding a Certificate and should not be permitted to teach in Ontario. Therefore, his Certificate of Qualification and Registration must be revoked as agreed to by the parties.

Publication of the findings and order of the Committee, in summary, with the name of the Member, in Professionally Speaking/Pour parler profession provides both a specific deterrent to the Member and a general deterrent to the profession while advising and serving the public interest. It assures the public that the College will not tolerate such egregious behaviour and will ensure that this type of misconduct is dealt with severely as in this case, by revocation and publication of name.

The Committee is satisfied that the penalty is appropriate in the circumstances and serves and protects the public interest.

Date: November 13, 2014

Pauline Smart

Chair, Discipline Panel

______________________________ Alexander (Sandy) Bass, OCT

Member, Discipline Panel

Hanno Weinberger, OCT

Member, Discipline Panel