Ontario College of Teachers v. Wong, 2025 ONOCT 15

DISCIPLINE COMMITTEE OF THE ONTARIO COLLEGE OF TEACHERS

Citation: Ontario College of Teachers v Wong 2025 ONOCT 15

Date: 2025-02-27

DECISION, REASONS FOR DECISION AND ORDER

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 Jonathan Owen Wong, a member of the Ontario College of Teachers.

BETWEEN:

ONTARIO COLLEGE OF TEACHERS

– and –

JONATHAN OWEN WONG (REGISTRATION #453909)

PANEL: Myrna Tulandi, Chair Victoria Romero Hanno Weinberger, OCT

HEARD: February 20, 2025

COUNSEL: Nicole Walton, for the Ontario College of Teachers No one appearing for Jonathan Owen Wong Emily Graham, Independent Legal Counsel

PUBLICATION BAN: Pursuant to subsection 32.1(3) 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.

By order of the Ontario Court of Justice, there is also a publication ban on any information that could identify the victim or a witness in this matter, pursuant to section 486.4 of the Criminal Code.

1This proceeding was heard electronically before a panel of the Discipline Committee (the “Panel”) of the Ontario College of Teachers (the “College”) on February 20, 2025, in accordance with rule 8.01 of the Rules of Procedure of the Discipline Committee and of the Fitness to Practise Committee.

2Jonathan Owen Wong (the “Member”) did not attend the hearing and did not have legal representation. The Panel was advised at the outset of the hearing that the parties had entered into an agreement with respect to the hearing.

A. PUBLICATION BAN

3The Panel ordered a publication ban pursuant to subsection 32.1(3) of the Ontario College of Teachers Act, 1996 (the “Act”), which makes such an order mandatory. Accordingly, 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.

4The Panel also received a copy the Reasons for Sentence from the Member’s criminal proceeding before Justice J. Bliss dated November 25, 2022 (Exhibit 2 at Appendix B) and a certified copy of the Court Information relating to the June 6, 2022 charges (Exhibit 2 at Appendix C). In these proceedings before the Ontario Court of Justice, an order restricting publication was made pursuant to section 486.4 of the Criminal Code of Canada. The Panel is required to uphold this publication ban. Accordingly, any information that could identify a victim or a witness involved in this matter shall not be published in any document or broadcast or transmitted in any way.

B. THE ALLEGATIONS

5The allegations against the Member in the Notice of Hearing dated April 9, 2024 (Exhibit 1) are as follows:

IT IS ALLEGED that the Member is guilty of professional misconduct as defined in 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 contravened a law, the contravention of which is relevant to the member’s suitability to hold a certificate of qualification and registration, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(16);

(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);

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

(e) he engaged in a prescribed sexual act as defined in section 1 of the Act and Ontario Regulation 615/20, subsection 1(3);

C. AGREED STATEMENT OF FACTS

6College Counsel presented the Panel with the parties’ Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea (Exhibit 2), which provides the following:

1. Jonathan Owen Wong is a member of the Ontario College of Teachers. His membership status was changed to “Inactive/Non-Practising” on April 22, 2023. Attached hereto and marked as Appendix “A” is a copy of the Ontario College of Teachers Registered Member Information with respect to the Member.

2. At all material times, the Member was employed by the Toronto District School Board as a teacher at [XXX] or as a virtual secondary school teacher in Toronto, Ontario.

3. From January 1, 2018, until April 10, 2021, the Member, working in a private capacity as a photographer, engaged in voyeurism by surreptitiously recording women in their underwear or nude, in, inter alia, the washroom, change room, living room, bedroom, and bathroom of his residence and/or hotel rooms. Police confirmed 9,000 individualized voyeuristic files created between 2018 and 2021, featuring 174 unidentified women and 8 identified women.

Criminal Proceedings/Conviction

4. On June 6, 2022, the Member was charged by the Toronto Police Service with three counts of voyeurism contrary to section 162(1)(a) of the Criminal Code (Canada). The charges did not relate to students; they arose out of the Member’s work as a photographer.

5. The first count read:

Jonathan Owen Wong between the 1st day of January in the year 2018 and the 9th day of April in the year 2021 at the City of Toronto in the Toronto Region did, without lawful excuse, surreptitiously observe by hidden camera and make a visual recording of one hundred and seventy four unidentified persons who were in circumstances that gave rise to a reasonable expectation of privacy when that person was in a place in which that person could reasonably be expected to be nude, to be exposing his or her genital organs or anal region or exposing her breasts or be engaged in explicit sexual activity, namely within the Province of Ontario, and thereby commit an offence under Section 162, subsection (1), clause (a) of the Criminal Code, contrary to Section 162, subsection (1), clause (a) of the Criminal Code of Canada.

6. The second count read:

Jonathan Owen Wong between the 17th day of March in the year 2018 and the 10th day of April in the year 2021 at the City of Toronto in the Toronto Region did, without lawful excuse, surreptitiously observe by hidden camera and make a visual recording of [Person 1], [Person 2], [Person 3], [Person 4], [Person 5], [Person 6], [Person 7] who were in circumstances that gave rise to a reasonable expectation of privacy when those persons were in a place in which those persons could reasonably be expected to be nude, to be exposing his or her genital organs or anal region or exposing her breasts or be engaged in explicit sexual activity, namely within the Province of Ontario, and thereby commit an offence under Section 162, subsection (1), clause (a) of the Criminal Code, contrary to Section 162, subsection (1), clause (a) of the Criminal Code of Canada.

7. The third count read:

Jonathan Owen Wong on or about the 23rd day of June in the year 2019 at the City of Toronto in the Toronto Region did, without lawful excuse, surreptitiously observe by hidden camera and make a visual recording of [Person 8] a person who was in circumstances that gave rise to a reasonable expectation of privacy when that person was in a place in which that person could reasonably be expected to be nude, to be exposing his or her genital organs or anal region or exposing her breasts or be engaged in explicit sexual activity, namely in the City of Toronto in the Province of Ontario, and thereby commit an offence under Section 162, subsection (1), clause (a) of the Criminal Code, contrary to Section 162, subsection (1), clause (a) of the Criminal Code of Canada.

8. On June 9, 2022, the Member pleaded guilty and was convicted of the three June 6, 2022 counts of voyeurism, before the Honourable Justice J. Bliss in the Ontario Court of Justice in Toronto.

9. On June 6, 2022, Counsel for the Crown filed an Agreed Statement of Facts as an exhibit to the proceeding before the Ontario Court of Justice. In that Agreed Statement of Facts, the Member admitted to recording women without their knowledge and consent and that this activity took place between 2001 and 2021.

10. On November 25, 2022, the Member was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment on the first two counts, three months’ imprisonment concurrent on the third count and 18 months’ probation, in relation to the three charges of voyeurism. The Member was also made subject to a number of ancillary orders.

11. Attached hereto and marked as Appendix “B” is a copy of the reported Reasons for Sentence, R. v. Wong, 2022 ONCJ 546, released on November 25, 2022.

12. Attached hereto and marked as Appendix “C” is a certified copy of the Court Information relating to the June 6, 2022 charges, certified on October 27, 2023, including the appearances/adjournments and disposition in the criminal proceeding.

13. The Member did not appeal his conviction or sentence and the time period for which to do so has lapsed.

GUILTY PLEA

14. By this document, the Member admits the truth of the facts and appendices referred to in paragraphs 1-13 above (the “Admitted Facts”).

15. The Member hereby acknowledges that the conduct set out at paragraphs 3, 8, 9, 11, and 12 of the Admitted Facts constitutes professional misconduct and pleads guilty to the allegations of professional misconduct against him, being more particularly breaches of Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsections 1(5), 1(16), 1(18) and 1(19). He also acknowledges that he engaged in a prescribed sexual act, as defined in section1 of the Ontario College of Teachers Act, 1996 and Ontario Regulation 615/20, subsection 1(3).

16. 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 the Discipline Committee’s decision and reasons shall be published on the College’s website, and that a summary of the Discipline Committee’s decision and reasons, including his name, shall 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; and

(f) he understands and acknowledges that he is executing this agreement voluntarily, unequivocally, and having had the opportunity to obtain the advice of legal counsel.

17. In light of the Admitted Facts 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.

D. DECISION

7Having considered the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea and the submissions of College Counsel, the Panel rendered an oral decision on February 20, 2025 finding that the Member engaged in acts of professional misconduct as alleged, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsections 1(5), 1(16), 1(18) and 1(19) and that he engaged in a prescribed sexual act, as defined in section 1 of the Act and Ontario Regulation 615/20, subsection 1(3).

E. REASONS FOR DECISION

8The Member admitted the truth of the facts and exhibits referred to in paragraphs 1 to 13 of the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea and admitted the allegations of professional misconduct against him. He acknowledged and the Panel accepts that the conduct set out in paragraphs 3, 8, 9, 11 and 12 of the Admitted Facts constitutes professional misconduct under the heads of misconduct set out above. The Admitted Facts demonstrate that the Member engaged in a pattern of voyeuristic behaviour when he surreptitiously recorded women in their underwear or nude in the washroom, change room, living room, bedroom and bathroom of his residence and/or hotel rooms. They also demonstrate that the Member pleaded guilty and was convicted of three counts of voyeurism contrary to section 162(1)(a) of the Criminal Code of Canada.

9The Panel finds that the Member failed to maintain the standards of the profession contrary to subsection 1(5) of Ontario Regulation 437/97. The Panel finds the Member’s conduct to be so notorious and offside of what is acceptable that expert evidence is not required to prove the standards of the profession were breached.¹ When the Member recorded women without their consent, in various states of undress, he did not honour their human dignity, emotional wellness or demonstrate respect for their confidentiality as required by the ethical standard of “Respect” and he was not compassionate as required by the ethical standard of “Care”. When the Member engaged in voyeurism, he did not demonstrate fairness, openness and honesty in accordance with the ethical standard of “Trust”. Furthermore, the Member breached the ethical standard of “Integrity” as his actions were not honest, reliable or moral.

10The Member contravened a law which is relevant to the member's suitability to hold a certificate of qualification and registration, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1 (16). The Member pleaded guilty to three counts of the offence of voyeurism under subsection 162(1)(a) of the Criminal Code of Canada. The Member’s behaviour involved an exploitation of the victims’ trust, an intrusion into their privacy and a lack of integrity and respect for the victims. Members of the teaching profession hold a unique position of trust and authority, and they are responsible for the safety and development of students. When they engage in criminal conduct that involves taking advantage of the trust of others, that behaviour calls into question their suitability to hold a teaching certificate.

11The Panel finds 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). The Member’s misconduct was abhorrent and demonstrated significant moral failings. The Member made at least 9,000 individualized voyeuristic recordings between 2018 and 2021 featuring 174 unidentified women and 8 identified women and he admitted that he had been recording women without their knowledge and consent between 2001 until 2021, a period of approximately 20 years. The Member demonstrated a complete lack of moral and professional judgment by engaging in voyeurism, as well as a disregard for the welfare of others and a lack of integrity. Based on the Reasons for Sentence, the Panel finds that the Member’s actions had significant impacts on the women who came forward. The women described feeling angry, wary, uneasy and manipulated and the Member’s behaviour impacted on their ability to trust others. Some of the women who came forward described significant impacts on their mental health, on their personal life and on their relationships (Exhibit 2 at Appendix B). The Member’s conduct would reasonably be regarded by members of the profession as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional.

12The Panel finds that the Member engaged in conduct unbecoming a member, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(19). By engaging in the criminal act of voyeurism, the Member eroded the reputation of the teaching profession and violated the trust and confidence placed in him by the public.

13The Panel finds that the Member engaged in a prescribed sexual act as defined in section 1 of the Act and Ontario Regulation 615/20, subsection 1(3). The Member has been convicted of three counts of the offence of voyeurism, contrary to section 162(1)(a) of the Criminal Code of Canada. Section 162 of the Criminal Code of Canada is one of several “prescribed sexual act[s]” set out under Ontario Regulation 615/20, subsection 1(3). The Panel notes that Ontario Regulation 615/20 came into force on November 5, 2020 and that some of the Member’s misconduct occurred prior to this date. However, the Member continued to make voyeuristic recordings up until April 10, 2021. Further, the Member has acknowledged at paragraph 15 of the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea that he engaged in a prescribed sexual act, as defined in section 1 of the Act and Ontario Regulation 615/20, subsection 1(3). As a result, the Panel finds that the Member has engaged in a prescribed sexual act as defined in section 1 of the Act and Ontario Regulation 615/20, subsection 1(3).

F. PENALTY DECISION

14The parties entered into a Joint Submission on Penalty (Exhibit 3), which was presented to the Panel. In an oral decision rendered on February 20, 2025, the Panel accepted the Joint Submission on Penalty and made the following order:

1. The Member is directed to receive a written reprimand, 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 immediately revoke the Certificate of Qualification and Registration of the Member.

G. REASONS FOR PENALTY DECISION

15The Member’s professional misconduct included a prescribed sexual act, 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 and notes that it has no discretion in this regard.

16The Panel recognizes that it may also order costs or a fine in accordance with subsection 30(5) of the Act or make an order under subsection 30(4) relating to reimbursement for therapy and counselling but notes that the parties are jointly asking it to confine its order to the mandatory ones. The Panel finds it reasonable not to make these additional orders in light of the Member’s guilty plea and joint submission on penalty, particularly given the high threshold that must be met before rejecting a joint submission on penalty.

17The Panel denounces the Member’s misconduct in the strongest terms.

Footnotes

1. 1See Novick v. Ontario College of Teachers, 2016 ONSC 508, at paragraph 71.