DISCIPLINE COMMITTEE OF THE ONTARIO COLLEGE OF TEACHERS
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
Genevieve Huguette Emmanuelle Charlton-Rogers, a member of the Ontario College of Teachers.
PANEL: Vicki Shannon, OCT, Chair Irene Dembek, OCT Marie-Thérèse Hokayem
BETWEEN: ) Vladimira Ivanov, ) McCarthy Tétrault LLP, ) for Ontario College of Teachers, ONTARIO COLLEGE OF TEACHERS ) assisted by Daniela Spano, ) Law Clerk – and – ) Genevieve Huguette ) Emmanuelle Charlton-Rogers ) The Member was self-represented (CERTIFICATE # 506691) ) and not present ) Erica Richler, ) Steinecke Maciura LeBlanc, ) Independent Legal Counsel ) ) Heard: April 25, 2017
DECISION, REASONS FOR DECISION AND ORDER
This matter came on for hearing before a panel of the Discipline Committee (the “Committee”) on April 25, 2017 at the Ontario College of Teachers (the “College”) at Toronto.
A Notice of Hearing dated April 9, 2014 (Exhibit 1) was served on Genevieve Huguette Emmanuelle Charlton-Rogers (the “Member”), requesting her presence on May 14, 2014 to set a date for hearing, and specifying the charges. The hearing was subsequently set for April 25, 2017.
The Member was not in attendance for the hearing and did not have legal representation.
THE ALLEGATIONS
The allegations against the Member in the Notice of Hearing are as follows:
IT IS ALLEGED that the Member is guilty of professional misconduct as defined in subsections 30(2) and 40(1.1)1 of the Ontario College of Teachers Act, 1996 (the “Act”) in that:
(a) she failed to maintain the standards of the profession, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(5);
(b) she abused a student or students psychologically or emotionally, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(7.2);2
(c) she abused a student or students sexually, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(7.3) and/or engaged in sexual abuse of a student or students as defined in section 1 of the Act;
(d) she 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);
(e) she 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);
(f) she engaged in conduct unbecoming a member, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(19).
AGREED STATEMENT OF FACTS
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 the following:
Genevieve Huguette Emmanuelle Charlton-Rogers is a member of the Ontario College of Teachers. Attached hereto and marked as Exhibit “A” is a copy of the Ontario College of Teachers Registered Member Information with respect to the Member.
At all material times, the Member was employed by the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board (the “Board”) as a teacher at [XXX](the “School”).
During the 2012-2013 academic year, Student 1 was an [XXX]-year-old female student at the School.
In the 2012-2013 academic year, the Member engaged in a romantic and sexual relationship with Student 1.
In August 2013, the Member resigned from the Board.
GUILTY PLEA
By this document, the Member admits the truth of the facts and exhibits referred to in the paragraphs above (the “Admitted Facts”).
The Member hereby acknowledges that the Admitted Facts referred to above constitute conduct which is professional misconduct, and pleads guilty to the allegations of professional misconduct against her, being more particularly breaches of Ontario Regulation 437/97 subsections 1(5), 1(7.3), 1(15), 1(18) and 1(19). The Member also admits that she engaged in sexual abuse of a student of a nature defined in sections 1 and 40(1.1) of the Act.
By this document the Member states that:
(a) she understands fully the nature of the allegations against her;
(b) she understands that by signing this document she is consenting to the evidence as set out in the Admitted Facts being presented to the Discipline Committee;
(c) she understands that by pleading guilty to the allegations, she is waiving the right to require the College to otherwise prove the case against her and the right to have a hearing;
(d) she 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 her name, may be published in the official publication of the College;
(e) she understands that any agreement between the parties with respect to the penalty proposed does not bind the Discipline Committee;
(f) she understands and acknowledges that she is executing this Agreement voluntarily, unequivocally, and without the advice of legal counsel.
- 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
Counsel for the College requested that the allegation of professional misconduct outlined in paragraph (b) of the Notice of Hearing, namely that the Member contravened subsection 1(7.2) of Ontario Regulation 437/97, be withdrawn. The Committee granted the request.
The Committee will be disregarding College Counsel’s submissions regarding subsection 1(7.2) in light of the withdrawal.
Having considered the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea and the submissions of College Counsel, 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, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsections 1(5), 1(7.3), 1(15), 1(18) and 1(19). The Committee also finds that the Member committed professional misconduct by engaging in the sexual abuse of a student of a nature defined in sections 1 and 40(1.1) of the version of the Act in force at the time the Member pled guilty, on November 29, 2016.
REASONS FOR DECISION
The Member admitted the truth of the facts and exhibits referred to in paragraphs 1-5 of the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea and pleaded guilty to the allegations of professional misconduct against her. She acknowledged and the Committee accepts that the Admitted Facts constitute conduct which is professional misconduct, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, 1(5), 1(7.3), 1(15), 1(18), and 1(19). The Committee also finds that the Admitted Facts establish that the Member committed professional misconduct by engaging in the sexual abuse of a student of a nature defined in sections 1 and 40(1.1) of the version of the Act in force at the time the Member pled guilty, on November 29, 2016.
Paragraph 4 of the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea demonstrates that the Member failed to maintain the standards of the profession, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(5).
Paragraph 4 of the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea demonstrates that the Member abused a student or students sexually, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(7.3) and/or engaged in sexual abuse of a student or students as defined in sections 1 and 40(1.1) of the version of the Act in force at the time the Member pled guilty on November 29, 2016.
Paragraph 4 of the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea demonstrates that the Member 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).
Paragraph 4 of the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea demonstrates that the Member 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).
Paragraph 4 of the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea demonstrates that the Member engaged in conduct unbecoming a member, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(19).
JOINT SUBMISSION ON PENALTY
Through a Joint Submission on Penalty (Exhibit 3), the parties jointly submitted that the appropriate penalty to be imposed in this matter would be that the Committee:
- direct the Registrar of the Ontario College of Teachers (the “Registrar”) to immediately revoke the Certificate of Qualification and Registration of the Member.
PENALTY DECISION
The Committee accepts the Joint Submission on Penalty presented by the parties and makes an order in accordance with its terms, as set out above.
REASONS FOR PENALTY DECISION
The Committee accepts the penalty jointly proposed by the parties. The Committee recognizes that, once it ensures that it has jurisdiction to make the order requested, the law confines the Committee’s role to determining whether the proposed penalty is so unreasonable that accepting it would bring the administration of the discipline process into disrepute or be otherwise contrary to the public interest. The Committee finds that the penalty proposed in the Joint Submission on Penalty is proportionate to the misconduct committed by the Member and is reasonable given the circumstances of this case. The penalty proposed by the parties is also within a reasonable range, based on the following analogous cases presented by College Counsel: Ontario College of Teachers v. Pennycook, 2016 ONOCT 42 and Ontario College of Teachers v. Matejovic, 2012 ONOCT 24.
The Committee does not have evidence as to the nature of the sexual acts committed by the Member in this case as part of her “romantic and sexual relationship” with Student 1. As such, the Committee cannot make a finding that the Member’s sexual abuse is one of the enumerated acts of professional misconduct listed in subsection 30.2(2) of the Act, which would require it to make an order pursuant to subsection 30.2(1) of the Act: 1) requiring that the Member be reprimanded by the Committee; and 2) directing the Registrar to revoke any certificate held by the Member under the Act. However, the Committee does find that the Member engaged in sexual abuse of a student of a nature defined in sections 1 and 40(1.1) of the version of the Act in force at the time the Member pled guilty on November 29, 2016, and that her sexually abusive conduct was in breach of subsection 1(7.3) of the Act. Therefore, the Committee is satisfied that revocation is the appropriate penalty in this case and that this penalty protects the public interest.
The Member had a sexual relationship with an [XXX]-year-old student. At the time, the student was in the Member’s class, and later the student served as a [XXX]in her class. The Member took advantage of the authority and trust that were placed in her as a teacher. The Member contravened the standards of the profession by committing acts of a sexual nature with a student. As a result of her conduct, the Committee finds that the Member has forfeited the privilege of holding a teaching certificate in Ontario.
Revocation in this case is proportionate to the Member’s misconduct. Revocation will reinforce to the profession and to the public the importance of maintaining appropriate student/teacher boundaries, and that inappropriate conduct of this nature will not be tolerated.
Publication of this decision with the Member’s name is now mandatory in accordance with subsection 45.1 of the Act. In their original Joint Submission on Penalty, the parties had agreed that there would 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. However, the parties had not agreed on whether or not the Member’s name should be included. College Counsel indicated that she informed the Member that the new version of the Act requires the publication of the Member’s name, and inquired whether the Member still wished to be bound by the agreement (Exhibit 5). College Counsel indicated that the Member did not communicate that she wished to rescind her agreement to the Joint Submission on Penalty. Therefore, the Committee is of the view that the joint submission is valid, notwithstanding the amendment of the Act. Accordingly, the Committee’s decision and reasons will be published with the Member’s name on the College’s website and a summary will be published with the Member’s name in the official publication of the College, Professionally Speaking/Pour parler profession.
The Committee is satisfied that the penalty is appropriate in the circumstances and meets the principle of serving and protecting the public interest.
Date: May 12, 2017
______________________________ Vicki Shannon, OCT Chair, Discipline Panel
______________________________ Irene Dembek, OCT Member, Discipline Panel
Marie-Thérèse Hokayem
Member, Discipline Panel