Ontario College of Teachers v. Haughton, 2025 ONOCT 1

DISCIPLINE COMMITTEE OF THE ONTARIO COLLEGE OF TEACHERS

Citation: Ontario College of Teachers v Haughton 2025 ONOCT 1

Date: 2025-01-02

PENALTY DECISION AND REASONS FOR DECISION

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 Anthony James Haughton, a member of the Ontario College of Teachers.

BETWEEN:

ONTARIO COLLEGE OF TEACHERS

– and –

ANTHONY JAMES HAUGHTON (REGISTRATION #533397)

PANEL: Damienne Lebrun-Reid, Chair Susan Arbour, OCT Brian Serafini, OCT

HEARD: December 20, 2024

Jordan Stone, for the Ontario College of Teachers Julian C. Renaud, for Anthony James Haughton Rebecca Durcan, Independent Legal Counsel

PUBLICATION BAN: Pursuant to subsections 32.1(3) and 32.1(4) of the Ontario College of Teachers Act, 1996, no person shall publish the identity of, or any information that could disclose the identity of any person who is under 18 years old and is a witness in a hearing or is the subject of evidence in a hearing, or the person who was allegedly sexually abused, or the subject of sexual misconduct, a prohibited act involving child pornography, or a prescribed sexual act.

1The penalty stage of this proceeding was heard electronically before a panel of the Discipline Committee (the “Panel”) of the Ontario College of Teachers (the “College”) on December 20, 2024, in accordance with rule 8.01 of the Rules of Procedure of the Discipline Committee and of the Fitness to Practise Committee.

2On June 24, 2024, the Panel found that Anthony James Haughton (the “Member”) engaged in professional misconduct when he made comments to Student 1 that were inappropriate and violated professional boundaries, including by exchanging inappropriate electronic communications with her on social media that were of a sexual nature. Based on this conduct, the Panel found that the Member contravened subsections 1(7), 1(7.2), 1(7.3), 1(18) and 1(19) of Ontario Regulation 437/97 and engaged in sexual abuse of a student as defined in section 1 of the Ontario College of Teachers Act, 1996 (the “Act”), as alleged in the Notice of Hearing dated February 21, 2023 (Exhibit 1).

3The Panel reconvened on December 20, 2024, to hear submissions with respect to penalty. The Member attended the hearing and had legal representation. The Panel was advised at the outset of hearing that the parties had entered into an agreement with respect to penalty.

A. Publication ban

4The Panel reminded those present that it had previously ordered a publication ban pursuant to subsection 32.1(3) of Act, which makes such an order mandatory. Accordingly, no person shall publish the identities of, or any information that could disclose the identities of, any person who is under 18 years of age and is a witness in a hearing or is the subject of evidence in a hearing.

5Additionally, the Panel reiterated that it has previously also ordered a publication ban pursuant to subsection 32.1(4) of the Act at the request of Student 1, who was allegedly sexually abused. Accordingly, no person shall publish the identity of, or any information that could disclose the identity of Student 1.

B. PENALTY DECISION

6The Panel was presented with a Joint Submission on Penalty (Exhibit 9), dated September 4, 2024. The parties advised that they had entered into a mutual agreement to seek a penalty order limited to the mandatory penalties set out at subsection 30.2(2) of the Act. The parties made submissions on the mitigating and aggravating factors in this matter, and College Counsel presented the Panel with the following cases to support the appropriateness of the jointly proposed order: Ontario College of Teachers v. Bujacz (2023 ONOCT 12 and 2023 ONOCT 41); and Ontario College of Teachers v. Poon (2023 ONOCT 25 and 2023 ONOCT 42).

7In an oral decision rendered on December 20, 2024, the Panel accepted the parties’ Joint Submission on Penalty and made the following order as to penalty:

1. The Member is directed to appear before the Discipline Committee immediately following the hearing of this matter to receive a reprimand, which will be delivered electronically, and the fact of the reprimand is to be recorded on the Register of the Ontario College of Teachers; and

2. The Registrar of the Ontario College of Teachers is directed to revoke the Certificate of Qualification and Registration of the Member.

C. REASONS FOR PENALTY DECISION

8The Member’s professional misconduct consisted of or included the sexual abuse of a student, as described in subsection 30.2(2) of the Act. Given this finding, section 30.2(1) of the Act provides that the Panel must make an order: (1) requiring that the Member be reprimanded by the Panel; and (2) directing the Registrar to revoke the Member’s certificate of qualification and registration. The Panel makes both of these orders. The Panel notes that while it has no discretion in this regard, having found that the Member engaged in sexual abuse of a student, the Panel is of the opinion that this penalty is appropriate and in the public interest.

9The Panel recognizes that it may also make additional orders in accordance with subsections 30(4) and 30(5) of the Act. The Panel finds it reasonable not to make any additional orders in this instance, having considered the aggravating and mitigating factors of the Member’s circumstances, the cases provided by College Counsel, and in light of the parties’ joint submission on penalty, particularly given the high threshold that must be met before rejecting a joint submission on penalty.

10The Panel considered the submissions by Member’s Counsel that the Member’s misconduct was less severe than other cases of sexual abuse, as it did not include any sexual touching or comments that were blatantly sexual in nature. While it may not be an aggravating factor, the Panel also does not consider this to be a mitigating factor. The Panel finds the significant number of electronic messages exchanged between the Member and Student 1 and the fact that the Member’s misconduct negatively impacted Student 1’s mental health to be aggravating factors in this case. In terms of mitigating factors, the Member acknowledged that his communication with Student 1 was inappropriate, expressed remorse and has not been the subject of discipline proceedings in the past.

11The Panel is satisfied that the penalty ordered is appropriate in the circumstances and meets the principle of serving and protecting the public interest. The reprimand was delivered orally to the Member by the Panel immediately following the hearing.

12The Panel denounces the Member’s misconduct in the strongest terms.