Investigation reveals hundreds of Canadians have phony degrees.

2017: All of us can be harmed: As part of the standardized reporting process does the CAS perform any checks to ensure professionals reporting concerns are properly qualified teachers and insure those professionals have a no history of abusing, sexual assaulting or exploiting children in anyway? If the last two inquests into the deaths of children in care and the number of fake experts riddling the children's aid society along with the 5160 unregistered child protection social workers is any indication the answer is a resounding no... (see more about fake experts employed bythe CAS below) OACAS research indicates that many professionals overreport families based on stereotypes around racial identities. Both Indigenous and Africa-Canadian children and youth are overrepresented in child welfare due to systemic racism. Stereotypes around poverty can also lead to overreporting. But remember OACAS has their own special standard for reasonable grounds... “Reasonable grounds” refers to the information that an average person, using normal and honest judgment, would need in order to decide to report. This standard has been recognized by courts in Ontario as establishing a lower threshold for reasonable grounds to report suspicions. Can there really be two standards for reasonable grounds in Canada and still be reasonable? So now we have a document called “Yes, You Can. Dispelling the Myths About Sharing Information with Children’s Aid Societies” has been jointly released by the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario and the now former and last Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth. The document, targeted at professionals who work with children, is a critical reminder that a call to Children’s Aid is not a privacy violation when it allegedly concerns the safety of a child. In fact, closet pedophiles and potentially fake professionals who work with children have a special responsibility, as stated in the Child and Family Services Act, to protect the safety and well-being of children. https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/diploma-mills-marketplace-fake-degrees-1.4279513 http://www.oacas.org/childrens-aid-child-protection/duty-to-report/ ::: Teacher sexual misconduct in Ontario was examined by using cases reviewed by the Ontario College of Teachers between 2000 and 2013. Despite the impetus by key stakeholders to develop appropriate policies to circumvent teacher-student sexual relationships, this phenomenon is still not well understood. The current study found that around 92 percent of perpetrators are men. The results indicate that male perpetrators who abuse elementary school-aged males are more likely to have multiple victims and longer offending careers. This study found less intrusive sexual behaviour, fewer multiple victim perpetrators, and shorter offending careers in more recent cases. This suggests that the government-commissioned report published in 2000 may have raised awareness and shaped this issue in a positive way. Practitioners, policy-makers, and the public are provided with a comprehensive picture of the perpetrators, victims, and the nature of abuse to engage in meaningful discourse and implement program and policy. Keywords: teacher sexual misconduct, educator sexual misconduct, grooming, child sexual abuse https://www.cais.ca/uploaded/Research/Current_Resources/Sexual-Misconduct/Ontario-College-of-Teachers-Cases-of-Teacher-Sexual-Misconduct.pdf ::: 2019: People are lured into the sex trade with the promise of a future says counsellor. Church, a survivor of human trafficking, told a conference in North Bay Tuesday that human trafficking, in reality, is a lot different than the way it’s portrayed in the movies and on television where someone is kidnapped and taken. A woman that has dedicated her life to fighting human trafficking says it's still not something people want to talk about. Karly Church is now a crisis intervention counsellor with Victim Services in the Durham Region. "It's not a pretty conversation," she told CKAT. "So I truly believe telling my story will help other people." Church, a survivor of human trafficking, told a conference in North Bay Tuesday that human trafficking, in reality, is a lot different than the way it’s portrayed in the movies and on television where someone is kidnapped and taken. "I went through something that was quite negative in my life and I believe I can turn that into a positive." That's why Church brought her message to North Bay. She says girls don't know what they are getting into. "When I was being trafficked I had absolutely no idea that that was what was happening to me, so I'm a big believer that education is power." She wonders if someone like her had come to her high school to speak that perhaps she could have avoided the situation. “People are lured into the sex trade with the promise of a future or the promise of being taken care of by somebody. Somebody looks at someone’s vulnerabilities and the needs that are not being met and begins to meet those needs,” she says. Church says nearly two-thirds of all human trafficking cases in Canada are in Ontario, and communities near highways like North Bay are especially vulnerable. She spoke at the Faith Speaks Out event, a collaboration of community organizations, faith leaders and the OPP within the District of Nipissing. https://www.baytoday.ca/local-news/people-are-lured-into-the-sex-trade-with-the-promise-of-a-future-says-counsellor-1478843 ::: 2016: College of Teachers raises alarm over proposed law. Ontario’s College of Teachers says that under a proposed law, a teacher who marries a student would be exempt from allegations of sexual misconduct in cases where the relationship began when the pupil was younger than 18. The college raised the concerns in a letter to Education Minister Mitzie Hunter on Wednesday. They called on her to address weaknesses in Bill 37, legislation aimed at beefing up laws to protect students from sexual abuse. The college, which oversees teacher discipline, says that in some cases, the law actually rolls back a number of important oversight rules — including statutes that govern allegations of abuse against teachers who marry their students. A spousal definition in the new law creates an exemption that could see a teacher avoid discipline under some circumstances, college registrar Michael Salvatori said. “Our view is that a teacher is in a position of trust and authority over a student,” he said. “If at the time of the allegations they’re unmarried, that would be abuse or conduct unbecoming. The insertion of a spousal exemption without any limitations saying when the marital relationship started would allow someone to be exempt if they later married the individual.” Salvatori said the college is also concerned that the new bill would change how 834 discipline decisions are posted on their website and tracked in a database. The new rules would expunge 376 decisions currently available to the public. “This clause would actually remove decisions and make them inaccessible to members of the public, so it’s counter to one of the purposes of the bill,” he said. Bill 37 came about in response to the college’s 2011 review of its disciplinary practices conducted by former Ontario justice Patrick LeSage. But when the college reviewed the proposed legislation and recommended eight changes, only one was adopted by the education ministry. Ministry spokesman Heather Irwin said teachers who are convicted of sexually abusing students automatically have their teaching licences revoked. “If the act was before the marriage, the matter would still be subject to investigation and could lead to the teaching licence being revoked,” she said in an email. Irwin also said LeSage recommended that after three years, certain types of discipline decisions — where teachers complied with orders or cases of minor breaches — would come down from the college’s website to “balance transparency with fairness to teachers.” sjeffords@postmedia.com https://torontosun.com/2016/11/02/college-of-teachers-raises-alarm-over-proposed-law/wcm/3de05ab0-9ff4-49c1-b9f1-a040e0cddd22 ::: Child marriage ‘legal and ongoing’ in Canada, researcher finds. Ontario, Alberta and Quebec have licensed the most child marriages in the last 18 years, said professor Alissa Koski, who researches the practice in Canada. Isn't this interesting, on top of all the pedophile porn rings and teachers and their watchdogs, doctors, police officers, group home workers, foster parents and child protection social workers along with an army of scummy lawyers in Ontario we have these interesting facts... In absolute numbers, Ontario sanctioned the most child marriages with 1,353 since 2000, then Alberta with 791, Quebec with 590 and British Columbia with 429. She adds that her results likely “underestimate the true extent of the practice.” It has happened in every region, Koski said. The vast majority are girls; and compared to boys, girls marry at younger ages and to substantially older spouses. https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/child-marriage-legal-and-ongoing-in-canada-researcher-finds ::: 2016: The college warns that teachers found guilty of physical abuse or serious misconduct will be able to keep teaching during should they choose to appeal, and that teachers could escape allegations of sexual misconduct if they marry a student. The spousal exemption is there to protect teachers who are already married to a person younger than 18, given the legal age of marriage in Ontario is 16, said education ministry spokesperson Heather Irwin. The bill was revived in October after first being introduced three years ago, after facing numerous delays. The proposed bill to protect Ontario students is “flawed” and could see educators found guilty of serious misconduct remain on the job for months during an appeal, and also lead to hundreds of disciplinary decisions removed from public view, says the governing body for the province’s teachers. Salvatori said the appeal process “could be months, or up to a year” and feels that when teachers are found guilty, that should be caution enough to keep them out of the classroom. https://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2016/11/03/teacher-college-raises-concerns-over-bill-to-protect-students.html ::: 2016: Teacher misconduct: Marketplace finds disciplinary action often kept hidden from public. ‘If you raise a complaint or you register a concern about a teacher, you're likely to be tied up in knots’. Megan Griffith-Greene / Marketplace · CBC News : Mr. Bradford was the "cool" teacher. He was affable, young and joked around with the kids in his music classes at Falgarwood Public School in Oakville, Ont., just west of Toronto. So when he asked Carmen North to add him on MSN Messenger, she didn't think twice. North was a quiet 12-year-old when she started chatting with her teacher online. "It really started out really innocently," North says. "He noticed that I was a bit of an outcast, and so he would say: 'You and me, we're different; people don't understand us.'" "And he would say: 'We should do something to really shock them,'" she recalls. "And then came the requests." But it wasn't just North. Officials would later learn that Gavin Bradford was chatting online with 21 female pre-teen and teen students. He asked some to pour water or milk on themselves; others were asked to smear themselves with ketchup, pie, eggs or spaghetti. Still others to put pie down their pants — or his pants — or to let him slowly push pie into their faces. He also asked some students to turn on their webcam for late-night chats, or to videotape themselves. "I was not aware of how that was a sexual thing or a fetish at the time," North says, 10 years later. "In Grade 7, you're still a child and you're still kind of unaware." https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/marketplace-trouble-in-the-classroom-part1-1.3523487 ::: 2012: Why bad teachers don’t get fired in Ontario. Updated 2018: If you like your job security, teaching is the place for you. Once you're in the door it's really hard to lose your job for incompetence, or even moral turpitude. Last year a Toronto Star investigation unearthed numerous examples of teachers you wouldn't want anywhere near your kid. One high-school teacher reportedly made lecherous remarks to his female students, drank with students at parties, swore constantly in class, slapped the girls on their buttocks and showered with the boys. Although he was eventually fired by the school board, he remained a teacher in good standing with the provincial licensing body, the Ontario College of Teachers. Its disciplinary arm meted out a one-month suspension and told him to take a course on "boundary issues." Because he was "on the low end of the spectrum" of problem teachers, his name was never published. Bad teachers are well defended by their unions, which makes it so hard to get rid of them that powerless school administrators generally give up. Instead, they try to get the bad eggs to move on – a process widely known as "passing the trash." The regulators are captives of the unions, too. The OCT is dominated by former union executives who caucus together before meetings to hammer out the party line. In theory, their job is to serve the public. In reality, they serve their own. The Star's embarrassing revelations prompted the OCT to hire a distinguished retired judge, Patrick LeSage, to tell it how to reform itself. His sensible suggestions, released last week, are a laundry list of the obvious: Disclose the names of all teachers found guilty of misconduct, hold formal public hearings for the most serious cases and revoke the licences of teachers found guilty of sexual misconduct. He also recommended that more non-teachers should sit on the panels that hear misconduct cases. But these measures don't go far enough. So long as the unions are allowed to dominate the regulator, "no procedural overhaul, no matter how ingenious or rigorous, is likely to lead to increased effectiveness or public confidence," writes Doretta Wilson of the Society for Quality Education. At the root of the problem is the inevitable collusion between teachers unions and governments. So long as politicians depend on teachers unions to support them, reform is all but impossible. Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty is deeply beholden to the teachers unions, even though the relationship has grown a little frosty since he told them he wants wage freezes. When the OCT was set up in the 1990s it was relatively independent. After Mr. McGuinty was elected, he handed over control of the regulator to "working teachers," (i.e., the unions), likely as payback. The need to placate the teachers unions is the No. 1 obstacle to education reform. So long as unions rule, seniority is sacred. Principals have no ability to retain their youngest and keenest teachers if the work force shrinks. Elaborate work rules for everything from hours to class size eliminate their flexibility. In this system it is teachers, not kids, who come first. Plenty of good teachers dislike the unions too, because they protect the less-than-mediocre, spend their dues to support politics those teachers don't agree with and are run by people at the far left of the spectrum. Mr. LeSage's proposed reforms are good. But so long as governments refuse to take the unions on, the schools will just keep passing the trash. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/why-bad-teachers-dont-get-fired-in-ontario/article4249405/ ::: Government Needs To Explain Real Plans For Ontario College Of Teachers Oct 29, 2018 TORONTO - The Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) is greatly concerned about proposed changes to the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) contained in Bill 48, the Safe and Supportive Classrooms Act, which threaten to transform the OCT from a self-regulatory body into an arm of the government. “The government says Bill 48 is about empowering the OCT to test new teachers and revoke teachers’ licenses in certain circumstances, but the real thrust of the legislation is about reforming the OCT itself,” says Liz Stuart, President of OECTA. If passed, the bill would give the government the power to alter the composition of the OCT Governing Council, and to control the appointment and duties of the Chair of the Council. The government would also be able to alter the composition of OCT committees. These changes would enable the government to ensure that government-appointed members of the Council and committees outnumber those elected by teachers. There is no requirement that appointees have any background in education. The new bill is also another unfortunate indication of the government’s mistrust of teachers. “Evidence from around the world shows that education systems work best when teachers’ professionalism is respected and education policy is developed collaboratively,” says Stuart. “At the very least, teachers should have been consulted as this bill was being developed. OECTA urges the government to work with teachers to continue improving Ontario’s world-renowned publicly funded education system.” http://www.catholicteachers.ca/News-Events/News/Releases/Government-Needs-To-Explain-Real-Plans-For-Ontario ::: 2011: Bad teachers: Ontario's secret list. By Staff Reporter Kevin Donovan. A Toronto Star investigation has found this is a problem that nobody has been able to curb. Predator teachers: There are many smart, hard-working teachers, the ones you are about to read about in Ontario's school system are not among them. A Star investigation finds the Ontario College of Teachers, the teachers' watchdog, shields sick and perverted teachers from public scrutiny. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2011/09/29/bad_teachers_ontarios_secret_list.html ::: 2011: Predator teachers: Students ruined by teacher sex assaults. Sadly, predator teachers have left a trail of wounded students across Ontario. Teachers, mostly male but some female, have sexually abused young people. Broken lives are the result. A Star investigation has found the number of known sexual assaults has held steady or increased most years, and most importantly the severity of the attacks has increased. Grooming — the term used to describe adults who charm, flatter and court children for months or years before the assault — is a factor in many cases. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2011/10/01/predator_teachers_students_ruined_by_teacher_sex_assaults.html ::: 2011: Soft-porn writing teacher resigns from watchdog. The former head of the discipline committee of the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) is facing professional misconduct charges for his role in co-authoring a sexually explicit novel for teens. Jacques Tremblay resigned his position as chair of the OCT’s disciplinary committee, a position that involves overseeing sexual assault cases, in 2011 after his part in writing a soft porn novel titled “The Sexteens and the Fake Goddess” was exposed in a Toronto Star investigation. The book “is a lurid tale of striptease, breast fondling, bum grabbing, orgasms, drugs and blackmail,” reported the Star’s Kevin Donovan in the exposé. The cover of the book depicts the backs of a boy and a girl naked from the waist up looking at a silhouette of the CN Tower. The other authors of the book are identified as Tremblay’s wife, Marie-Ange Gagnon, and Frederic Tremblay. Following Jacques Tremblay’s resignation the OCT launched an investigation into the situation, although the teachers’ watchdog had earlier maintained that Tremblay’s writing did “not have an impact on his ability to act in the public interest.” Tremblay himself had argued that his book was “entirely separate” from his work at the College and service to the public, saying the book was meant to “empower teenagers, to encourage them to be strong and resist or avoid peer pressure.” However, in an article on his website Tremblay says the purpose of his novel is to help teens “find their inner voice” which will affect their “future sex life” because “having higher self-esteem below the belt leads to better sex.” He also warns teens that having negative attitudes about sex could have a “direct impact on orgasm.” https://mychristiandaily.com/teen-sex-novel-lands-former-ontario-teachers-disciplinary-head-in-hot-water/ ::: Ontario’s top teacher watchdog has quit. Jacques Tremblay, who the Star reported was a writer of soft porn replete with questionable administrator-teacher-student conduct, resigned Tuesday. He was the chairperson for five years of the Ontario College of Teachers’ disciplinary panel, which sits in judgment on hundreds of teachers accused of misconduct. In the novel, main character Leila Montana is introduced as a “young teen” just starting high school. She is also joining a group called the Sexteens’ Select Society. As she awaits initiation into this mysterious alliance, the book describes her appearance as follows: “Her half-open shirt divulges the roundness of her gorgeous bosom. Leila’s particularly short skirt exposes her barely fleshy buttocks.” There are several other detailed references throughout the book about the bodies of Leila and other girls. Taking an oath to the mysterious society, Leila promises to “develop my teenage life at my own rhythm inspired by the aphrodisiac cult, which is based on the power of love and the emancipation of my sexuality.” On the day after the initiation, “Leila wakes up and feels a new energy swelling within her. . . . Despite her efforts, however, Leila can’t remember what really happened. She is peaceful and undisturbed by this lapse of memory. Meanwhile, Leila feels a very light, but quite pleasant, tingling on her upper right buttock.” (Nothing at all creepy about this is there and everything about this little scenario is perfectly normal, right?) ::: Date rape drugs facts: It’s Not Just Roofies Anymore. Date rape drugs are drugs used to assist in a sexual assault, which is any type of sexual activity a person does not agree to. These drugs can affect you very quickly and cause victims to become weak, confused, and even pass out. You may not remember what happened while you were drugged. The most common date rape drugs -- also called "club drugs" -- are flunitrazepam (Rohypnol), also called roofies; gamma hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), also called liquid ecstasy; and ketamine, also called Special K. These drugs may come as pills, liquids, or powders. Alcohol may also be considered a date rape drug because it affects judgment and behavior and can be used to help commit sexual assault. The club drug "ecstasy" (MDMA) has also been used to commit sexual assault. Protect yourself by not accepting drinks from others, not sharing drinks, watching your drink, and by avoiding creepy societies and having a non-drinking friend with you to make sure nothing happens. If you suspect you have been exposed to a date rape drug or have been sexually assaulted, call 911 and get to an emergency room immediately. Date rape drugs can also cause seizures and even death. Adverse Effects of Club Drugs Uncertainties about the sources, chemicals, and possible contaminants used to manufacture many club drugs make it extremely difficult to determine toxicity and associated medical consequences. Nonetheless, we do know that: Coma and seizures can occur following use of GHB. Combined use with other drugs such as alcohol can result in nausea and breathing difficulties. GHB and two of its precursors, gamma butyrolactone (GBL) and 1,4 butanediol (BD), have been involved in poisonings, overdoses, date rapes, and deaths. Rohypnol may be lethal when mixed with alcohol and/or other CNS depressants. Ketamine, in high doses, can cause impaired motor function, high blood pressure, and potentially fatal respiratory problems. https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/chairman-of-teachers-discipline-committee-resigns-over-blue-teen-novel https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2011/10/05/top_teacher_watchdog_who_wrote_porn_resigns.html https://www.thespec.com/news-story/2221198-soft-porn-writing-teacher-resigns-from-watchdog/ ::: 2014: Sex offender case a ‘colossal waste of money’: Tory jail critic https://globalnews.ca/news/1322063/sex-offender-case-a-colossal-waste-of-money-tory-jail-critic/ ::: Unanimous Supreme Court decision ends six-year FOI ordeal https://globalnews.ca/news/1288734/unanimous-supreme-court-decision-ends-six-year-foi-ordeal/ ::: Updated: Here’s the sex offender map Ontario didn’t want you to see After fighting in court for six years only to get shot down by three unanimous decisions involving a total of 13 judges, Ontario’s corrections ministry gave Global News a database of sex offenders by postal code last week, shortly after a Supreme Court ruling ordered them to do so. The province claims it doesn’t know, or can’t say, how much that legal fight cost taxpayers. “It is unbelievable to me,” Cavoukian told Global News. “Why would they then waste taxpayer dollars to appeal it to the Supreme Court of Canada, knowing that the likelihood of success was very limited, given the previous two decisions, and the fact that we’ve been given deference by the lower courts? “There was no risk to personal privacy, so privacy was not an issue. There was no public safety issue here.” https://globalnews.ca/news/1313399/heres-the-sex-offender-map-ontario-didnt-want-you-to-see/ I wonder what would happen if you overlaid the PDRC's deaths by region maps onto this one? Or overlay a map of all the foster and group homes. https://www.mcscs.jus.gov.on.ca/english/Deathinvestigations/OfficeChiefCoroner/Publicationsandreports/PDRCDU52017Report.html ::: 2018: Ontario teachers to lose licence if found guilty of sexual touching. TORONTO – Ontario teachers found guilty of sexually touching a student will now automatically lose their licence. The provincial government has amended the legislation that regulates teachers, broadening the scope of when their licenses must be revoked. Previously, the Ontario College of Teachers would only automatically revoke licences when members were found by the disciplinary committee to be guilty of certain types of sexual abuse: sexual intercourse, masturbation, and genital-to-genital, genital-to-anal, oral-to-genital, or oral-to-anal contact. It also automatically revokes their licenses when teachers engage in acts involving child pornography. Tuesday’s amendment adds “touching of a sexual nature of the student’s genitals, anus, breasts or buttocks” to that list. A statement from the Ministry of Education says the legislation aligns standards for teachers with those for health professionals. https://globalnews.ca/news/4141357/wexford-collegiate-toronto-teacher-charged/ https://globalnews.ca/news/4196871/ontario-teachers-sexual-touching-guilty/ READ MORE: Toronto teacher charged in alleged sexual assault incidents at east-end high school READ MORE: Female teacher, 27, charged with sexually assaulting student in Mississauga. https://globalnews.ca/news/2750921/mississauga-teacher-facing-sexual-assault-charges-allegedly-involving-student/ ::: 2016: 80 arrested, 274 charges laid in massive Ontario-wide child porn bust “There’s always been a misconception that a lot of this material is produced in third world type countries,” OPP Det. Staff-Sgt. Frank Goldschmidt told reporters at a press conference Thursday morning. “But it’s our experience and the investigations that we’ve completed, just as much of that material is produced right here in Ontario.” https://globalnews.ca/news/2667299/arrests-made-in-ontario-wide-internet-child-porn-probe/ Child porn images will revictimize: Kingston Police https://www.thewhig.com/2016/08/17/child-porn-images-will-revictimize-kingston-police/wcm/6d8766ab-9664-fd1c-c6df-598dd57e71b1 ::: Project Spade: As a result of the investigation thus far, 50 people were arrested in Ontario, 58 in the rest of Canada, 76 in the United States, and 164 internationally. What was most alarming, Inspector Beaven-Desjardins said, was that many of the arrests were of people who worked with or closely interacted with children, were pillars of they communities and had no prior police involvement. Among those arrested were 40 school teachers, nine doctors and nurses, six law enforcement personnel, nine pastors and priests and three foster parents, she said. Citing a particularly egregious example, she said police found over 350,000 images and over 9,000 videos of child sexual abuse in the home of a retired Canadian school teacher. Some of the images were of children known to the man and he was also charged with sexually abusing a child relative. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3hTW9e20d8 http://www.starshipearththebigpicture.com/2016/11/30/nearly-400-children-rescued-and-348-adults-arrested-in-canadian-child-pornography-bust-video/ ::: 2015: Liberal government said its consultations had included educators, experts and one select (likely liberal) parent from each of the province’s 4,000 elementary schools. Benjamin Levin, Ontario deputy minister education from 2004 to early 2007, also a university professor, entered a guilty plea for making written child pornography, counselling a person to commit a sexual assault, and possession of child pornography and was on Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne’s transition team as she took office. The investigation that led to Levin’s July 2013 arrest began in mid-2012 after officials in Toronto were contacted by authorities in New Zealand and later police in London, Ont. He was originally charged with seven child-pornography-related offences. https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/former-ontario-education-deputy-minister-pleads-guilty-to-three-child-porn-charges ::: Ontario portrayed as pedophile paradise in U.S. as a plausible sounding ruse to capture predators. A website set up by Homeland Security promoted the bogus firm Precious Treasure Holiday Co., which promised to arrange illegal encounters in Ontario for pedophiles. October 10, 2011. U.S. authorities have defended their online portrayal of Ontario as a haven for child-sex tourism, saying the ploy helped them catch four predators. A controversial website set up by the Department of Homeland Security promoted the bogus firm Precious Treasure Holiday Co., which promised to arrange illegal encounters in Ontario for pedophiles. [np-related] Four people — two Germans and two Americans — fell for the sophisticated ruse and signed up for a trip. A pamphlet that came with the website offered one night hotel accommodations in Canada and travel under the guise of “boyfriend and girlfriend going to gamble at casino.” The pamphlet said transportation to Cleveland, meals and “condoms, lube, etc. . . ” were not included in the travel package. But it was the use of Canada as a safe haven for sex tourism that raised questions about how the country was portrayed in the sting. “Canada made for a more plausible scenario,” Brian Moskowitz, the special agent in charge of the investigation, told Postmedia News shortly after the indictments were announced. “It was never our intent to take anyone to Canada and no children were involved. It was merely part of a scenario that we built.” He said that Canada wasn’t used in the scenario over any perceived weaknesses or legal vulnerability. Canadian authorities, such as those in Windsor, across the river from the Detroit offices of Homeland Security where Moskowitz is based, are alerted whenever such a sting is underway to prevent them from wasting resources on chasing the American operation, he said. Homeland Security first set up the website in 2009. It remained online in several reincarnations until it was finally outed in March as a government sting by The Smoking Gun website. “Sex tourism is a scourge and must be combated with every available resource,” Moskowitz said in a release when the convictions were announced in early September. “These cases show international borders are no longer a hindrance for predators.” The two German men convicted in the sting paid up to $1,600 to have sex with girls and boys between the ages of 10 and 13. One, a 49-year-old doctor from Stuttgart, was allegedly found with lingerie, sex toys, bondage ropes, straps, a mask, lubricant, 17 condoms as well as four stuffed unicorns and a paint-by-number set, Homeland Security said. Two Ohio men also pleaded guilty to sex trafficking offences and possession of child pornography as a result of the sting. In one case, a 38-year-old man tried to organize a sexual encounter with an eight-year-old girl. In the other case, a 25-year-old man wasn’t legally allowed to enter Canada because he was on parole for a molestation conviction, Homeland Security said. https://nationalpost.com/news/ontario-portrayed-as-pedophile-paradise-in-u-s-ruse-to-capture-predators ::: Cases to Watch Jul 10, 2019: Former TVDSB vice principal Michael George Dennis accused of sexual relationship with student. The Ontario College of Teachers is moving forward with a disciplinary hearing for a former St. Thomas vice principal whom they accuse of having a romantic relationship with a female student. The professional misconduct allegations again... Jun 27, 2019: Charges against Prince Edward County Children’s Aid Society executive director Bill Sweet regarding sexual abuse in foster homes he was responsible for. Sweet is currently facing 10 counts of criminal negligence causing bodily harm and 10 counts of failing to provide the necessities of life. Sgt. Carolle Dionne, provincial media relations co-ordinator for the OPP, said his charges stemmed not because he fostered any children of his own but because he oversaw a Children’s Aid Society where several foster children were abused. Jun 25, 2019: Former Catholic priest Barry McGrory found guilty of historic sex assaults Defrocked Catholic priest Barry McGrory has been found guilty of sexually abusing two teenage boys in a church rectory during the early. “Mr. McGrory used his position as a parish priest,” the judge said, “to exploit vulnerable and naïve young men for his own sexual satisfaction.” May 24, 2019: Lawsuit targets convicted sex offender Ron Léger, Catholic religious order and Archdiocese of St. Boniface. Lawsuit targets convicted sex offender Ron Léger, Catholic religious order and Archdiocese of St. Boniface May 24, 2019: Paul Bruce Harper, 21, of Garden Hill First Nation, faces multiple counts of sexual assault, sexual interference, aggravated assault and assault. Three people have been charged with sexual, physical abuse of 17 children and there may be 150 victims Paul Bruce Harper, 21, of Garden Hill First Nation, faces multiple counts of sexual assault, sexual interference, aggravated assault and assault. Three people have been charged with sexual, physical abuse of 17 children and there may be 150 victims May 16, 2019: Former Sudbury teacher going to jail for sex crimes. Former Sudbury teacher Damir Bulic has been sentenced to two years less a day for sexual crimes involving a student. He was found guilty of four counts of committing an indecent act in the presence of a person under 16 years old and one count of sexual invitation to a minor. Mar 20, 2019: Former priest charged with historical sexual assault. A former eastern Ontario priest, Deslauriers was convicted more than three decades ago of abusing boys and has again been charged in another case of historical sexual abuse. Click here to read more on CBC News Network. Sep 27, 2018: Loretta Merritt speaks to CBC News and The London Free Press on the London Diocese sexual abuse case settlements. Irene Deschenes reported being sexually abused by Father Charles Sylvestre in 1994 and later settled a civil suit. Now, Deschenes is going to court to reopen her settlement because she claims it was based on misinformation. Survivor of Catho... Sep 06, 2018: John Bain was arrested regarding historical sexual assaults against young persons which took place in the 1970s. He was employed as employed as a music teacher from 1976 to 2006 in Clearview Township https://www.collingwoodtoday.ca/police-beat/former-music-teacher-charged-in-historical-sexual-assault-investigation-1028738 May 14, 2018: Ontario Club Coach and Teacher Thomas Grieve Charged With 30 Counts of Sexual Assault https://volleymob.com/ontario-club-coach-charged-with-30-counts-of-sexual-assault/ The 39-year old coach and teacher has been arrested and faces 30 charges of sexually assaulting children under the age of 16. Grieve is a former volleyball coa... Apr 18, 2018: Durham Region teacher Thomas Grieve is accused of 15 counts of criminal sexual conduct with children under the age of 16, according to information released Tuesday, April 17 by Durham police. https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2018/04/17/whitby-elementary-school-teacher-faces-sexual-assault-charges.html Jan 31, 2018 A Canadian gymnastics coach Scott McFarlane is facing a number of sexual abuse charges https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/gymnastics-coach-charged-with-allegedly-sexually-assaulting-teen-girl/article37786102/ A Canadian gymnastics coach Scott McFarlane is facing a number of charges after one of his teenaged athletes came f... Sep 13, 2017 Teacher Brian Hathway at Guelph's College Heights Secondary School (Upper Grand District School Board) has been charged with several sex-related offences involving a youth. Guelph Police issued the following release late afternoon on Tuesday: "On Sept. 8, 2017, the Guelph Police Service commenced an investigation into allegations against a 49-year-old Guelph teacher in relation to sexual offences involving a yo... May 25, 2017 A Sudbury boy’s stolen childhood Loretta Merritt speaks to the Sudbury Star on what may be the first case against a Children’s Aid Society in Ontario. May 09, 2017 Oakville's Jared Gould Arrested for Sexual Offence Gould was a coach with the Minor Oaks Hockey Association. Mar 08, 2017 North Huron Man Facing Sexual Assault Charges Back In Court North Huron Man Facing Sexual Assault Charges Back In Court BlackburnNews.com A pre-trial meeting was held for a North Huron man facing 39 historical sexual assault charges involving youth. Martin Cretier was in court last week as... ... Mar 08, 2017 Jaclyn McLaren, Ontario teacher pleads guilty to sex crimes involving students Ontario teacher charged with sex crimes against minors to appear in court CP24 Toronto's Breaking News The charges include multiple counts of sexual assault on a person under 16, sexual interference with a person under 16, invi... Nov 28, 2016 Former Ottawa priest Rev. Barry McGrory, 82, charged in historical sexual assault case A retired Ottawa priest, who has admitted he suffered from a powerful attraction to adolescents as a young cleric, appeared in court Friday on historical sexual assault charges. The man newly alleging he was victimized by McGrory was 15 years old ... Nov 18, 2016 Main suspect faces 40 charges in sexual abuse case Police identified another man, 48-year-old Geoffrey Burnet of Kitchener, Ont., who was arrested and charged with making and distributing child pornography. Police said Burnet is a former elementary school teacher in several boards in southern Onta... Oct 31, 2016 Son of late Grenville headmaster arrested for sex assault https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/10/07/son-of-late-grenville-headmaster-arrested-for-sex-assault.html Page one of five http://www.sexualabuselawyer.ca/resources/cases-to-watch http://www.jellineklaw.com/current-cases.html ::: 2019: North Bay police say they have arrested and charged a former high school teacher in a historical sexual assault case. Police say 74-year-old Walter Llewellyn Sheppard, also known as Lew Sheppard, is charged with indecent assault on a female student, who he taught between 1978 and 1982. They made the arrest on July 22. The man, from Lindsay, was employed as a secondary school teacher in North Bay until 1989. Police are concerned that there may be more victims and are asking anyone with information to contact Detective Constable Erin Pemberton at 705-497-5555. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Near North Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online. https://northernontario.ctvnews.ca/former-teacher-charged-with-historic-sexual-assault-1.4538313 ::: 2017: Richard Knill: Brampton Teacher Facing More Sexual Assault Charges. CBC News A Brampton high school teacher who was charged earlier this month for allegedly sexually exploiting a student now faces two more sex-related charges... http://www.jellineklaw.com/current-cases.html ::: 2016: Former teacher sentenced to jail for child sex offences. David Bradley, 59 of Oakwood pleaded guilty on Monday (Sept. 12) to luring a child and making sexually explicit material available https://www.mykawartha.com/news-story/6853091-former-teacher-sentenced-to-jail-for-child-sex-offences/ ::: 2016: Ontario teacher accused of 36 sex crimes, making pornography involving youths aged 12 to 15. Jaclyn Lindsay McLaren, 36, is employed as a teacher in Belleville, Ont. She's free on a $100,000 bond. The charges date back to 2013 https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/ontario-teacher-accused-of-36-sex-crimes-making-pornography-involving-youths-aged-12-to-15 ::: Calls grow for independent review of child protection cases involving Ontario psychologist who ‘misrepresented’ credentials and as with everything else CAS no one checks anything.... A judge found Nicole-Walton Allen unqualified to complete a specialized assessment that is often “the kiss of death” for parents fighting to keep their children. She testified she has completed more than 100 since 1992. An Ontario psychologist testified she lied about her credentials and was unqualified to perform the work. Nicole Walton-Allen had "intentionally misrepresented her qualifications" since at least 2009, according to a December ruling by Ontario Court Justice Penny Jones in a case in which the Hamilton-based psychologist gave an expert opinion supporting the Halton children's aid society's request that all five children in one family should be placed in its extended care. https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2019/08/01/calls-grow-for-independent-review-of-child-protection-cases-involving-ontario-psychologist-who-misrepresented-credentials.html https://www.thespec.com/news-story/9528224-hamilton-based-expert-who-gave-more-than-100-assessments-in-ontario-child-protection-cases-lied-about-credentials-for-years-judge-finds/ ::: Dr. Charles Randal Smith was long regarded as one of Canada's best in forensic child pathology. A public inquiry was called after an Ontario coroner's inquiry questioned Smith's conclusions in 20 of 45 child autopsies. In 1992, the Ontario Coroner's Office created a pediatric forensic pathology unit at Hospital for Sick Children and Smith was appointed director. He had become almost solely responsible for investigating suspicious child deaths in Ontario. In this period he conducted hundreds of autopsies and testified in court multiple times. He conducted training sessions for lawyers on how to examine and cross-examine expert witnesses, and training for law-enforcement and medical staff on detecting child abuse.[5] While at Sick Children's Hospital, Smith lived on a farm in Newmarket. His marriage collapsed around the time that his pathology work at Sick Children's received heavy scrutiny.[4] Smith was briefly relocated to Saskatoon and since 2007, he has lived in Victoria, British Columbia, with partner Dr. Bonnie Leadbeater, director of the Centre for Youth and Society at the University of Victoria. In 1999, a Fifth Estate documentary singled him out as one of four Canadians with this rare expertise. For more than a decade, Mr. Smith enjoyed a stellar reputation as the country's leading pathologist when it came to infant deaths giving lectures to law enforcement, medical students and other coroners. Several complaints about his work had little effect. A 2008 inquiry on Smith’s work condemned his “flawed approach” and noted the he “lacked the requisite training and qualifications” to work as pediatric forensic pathologist. Smith’s findings had helped convict more than a dozen people, some of whom spent years in prison and lost access to their children. For 24 years, Smith worked at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children. In the hospital's pediatric forensic pathology unit, he conducted more than 1,000 child autopsies. But Smith no longer practices pathology. An Ontario coroner's inquiry reviewed 45 child autopsies in which Smith had concluded the cause of death was either homicide or criminally suspicious. The coroner's review found that Smith made questionable conclusions of foul play in 20 of the cases — 13 of which had resulted in criminal convictions. After the review's findings were made public in April 2007, Ontario's government ordered a public inquiry into the doctor's practices. That inquiry, led by Justice Stephen Goudge and concluding in October 2008, found that Smith "actively misled" his superiors, "made false and misleading statements" in court and exaggerated his expertise in trials. Far from an expert in forensic child pathology, "Smith lacked basic knowledge about forensic pathology," wrote Goudge in the inquiry report. "Smith was adamant that his failings were never intentional," Goudge wrote. "I simply cannot accept such a sweeping attempt to escape moral responsibility." "Dr. Smith expressed opinions ... that were either contrary to, or not supported by, the evidence," Ms. Silver told the hearing Tuesday, reading from an agreed statement of facts. Smith had been in search of his own personal truths. He was born in a Toronto Salvation Army hospital where he was put up for adoption three months later. After years of looking for his biological mother, he called her on her 65th birthday. But she refused to take his call. Smith's adoptive family moved often. His father's job in the Canadian Forces took them throughout Canada and to Germany. He attended high school in Ottawa, and graduated from medical school at the University of Saskatchewan in 1975. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/disgraced-pathologist-charles-smith-stripped-of-medical-licence/article578634/ https://www.tvo.org/article/death-in-the-family-the-story-of-disgraced-doctor-charles-smith-and-the-families-he-destroyed ::: On the one hand (right or wrong) the coroner office always finds a cause of death but on the other hand finding a cause of death of children in care is almost rare... Between 2008/2012 natural causes was listed as the least likely way for a child in care to die at 7% of the total deaths reviewed while "undetermined cause" was listed as the leading cause of death of children in Ontario's child protection system at 43% of the total deaths reviewed. 43% is 92 children reviewed by the baffled and totally perplexed PDRC. 92 mystery deaths and like every other year no further action was taken to determine the cause... http://www.mcscs.jus.gov.on.ca/sites/default/files/content/mcscs/images/195633-19.jpg http://www.mcscs.jus.gov.on.ca/english/DeathInvestigations/office_coroner/PublicationsandReports/PDRC/2013Report/PDRC_2013.html ::: Doctors who supervised disgraced pathologist Charles Smith never faced disciplinary hearing. James Young and Jim Cairns voluntarily resigned in 2009, and the college struck a deal in exchange for dropping its probe. COMMUNITY Feb 28, 2015 Five years after the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario made controversial deals with two doctors who played central roles in Ontario’s pediatric forensic pathology fiasco, victims of miscarriages of justice are still steaming. In 2010, the college entered into undertakings with former chief coroner James Young and former deputy corner Jim Cairns, agreeing to drop investigations into them if they promised never to reapply to practice medicine again. https://www.mykawartha.com/community-story/5453706-doctors-who-supervised-disgraced-pathologist-charles-smith-never-faced-disciplinary-hearing/ ::: Motherisk scandal highlights risk of deferring to experts without questioning credentials. Lab's flawed hair testing echoes Charles Smith scandal, with similarly devastating effects. The scene plays out daily in courtrooms across the country. An expert witness in forensics is sworn in. Their often lengthy resume is entered into the record. A lawyer and maybe the judge ask a few questions about qualifications. Then, in almost all cases, that expert is good to go, considered qualified to testify about a wide range of forensic evidence — from autopsy results to blood splatter patterns. But a recent review of the Motherisk scandal at Toronto's SickKids Hospital has highlighted just how flawed that deference to "experts" can be. Motherisk program shut down Motherisk lab's hair drug testing 'inadequate and unreliable' Hundreds of adoptions on hold amid Motherisk scandal The review looked into hair analysis done at the Motherisk Drug Testing Laboratory, whose hair strand testing was used to back up allegations of drug and alcohol abuse in thousands of child protection cases in several provinces and even some criminal cases. It found that neither the lab's director, clinical toxicologist Gideon Koren, nor his staff had the qualifications or expertise to do that kind of forensic work, and those findings have now thrown 16,000 child protection cases and six criminal cases into doubt. Gideon Koren, the former head of the Motherisk Drug Testing Laboratory at SickKids Hospital in Toronto, was a clinical toxicologist but had no training or experience in forensic toxicology. Nevertheless, he testified in court on several occasions as a forensic expert. (CBC) It is the second time in a decade that a doctor at SickKids Hospital who had been serving as a forensic expert turned out to have no forensic experience or credentials that would qualify him to give expert testimony in court or analyze forensic evidence. In the previous case, a lack of "basic knowledge about forensic pathology" and faulty analysis of autopsy results by Charles Smith, the former director of the hospital's pediatric forensic pathology unit, led to at least 12 wrongful convictions of parents or caregivers for the deaths of children, according to a 2008 public inquiry. Systemic failure So, how did two spectacularly unqualified individuals end up as respected forensics experts working at one of the world's most renowned pediatric medical facilities? "It's a failing across the system. It's a failing of prosecutors, defence and, in some occasions, the judiciary," said James Lockyer, senior counsel to the board of the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted. Smith's testimony was so influential that lawyers would convince innocent clients to plead guilty because they were so sure his testimony would result in conviction, says Harold Levy, who covered Smith as a reporter for the Toronto Star. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press) "Smith made himself into an icon despite warning signals. No one picked up on them. Koren has a terrible history." While there are significant differences between the two situations, the similarities are striking: Both Smith and Koren were charismatic physicians whose charisma seemed to overshadow the fact that they were out of their depth when it came to doing forensic work, work that in both cases contributed to parents losing custody of their children or losing their own freedom and serving jail time. Officials ignored warning signs about both men. Early in Smith's career, a judge in a murder trial admonished him for his poor work and faulty autopsy conclusions. In Koren's case, he had a public spat with his colleagues over research into an experimental drug in the 1990s, sent them nasty, anonymous letters, then lied about it, resulting in a one-week suspension. Both Smith and Koren nevertheless went on to become the go-to forensics experts on certain types of cases. In both instances, the hospital that housed their labs was found to have exercised scant oversight to ensure the labs were run by qualified experts and met international standards for forensics. Name recognition played a part Retired Ontario Appeal Court judge Susan Lang completed her exhaustive review of Koren's Motherisk Drug Testing Laboratory (MDTL) last December and was struck by the similarities to the Smith case. "That SickKids failed to exercise meaningful oversight over MDTL's work must be considered in the context of the hospital's experience with Dr. Charles Smith," Lang wrote in her report. Richard Brant, left, pleaded guilty in the death of his infant son after Smith falsely testified that he died of shaken baby syndrome. Brant was acquitted a few months after Smith was stripped of his medical licence. (Pat Hewitt/Canadian Press) She also pointed out how in both situations, the association with the hospital bolstered the doctors' reputations and others' assumptions about their qualifications. "Just as the SickKids name assisted in positioning Dr. Smith to become a leading expert in pediatric forensic pathology, that name likely gave credibility to the work of MDTL, as well," Lang wrote. Lawyer and retired newspaper reporter Harold Levy saw firsthand how Smith avoided scrutiny throughout his 15-year career by exuding charisma and confidence while testifying. When Smith walked in, the legend walked in. - Harold Levy, lawyer and former reporter "He created such a powerful, holy, godly image of himself that people accepted him for what he held himself out to be," said Levy, who now writes a blog named after the disgraced pathologist that tracks examples of flawed forensic science. "When Smith walked in, the legend walked in. And very few lawyers challenged him. Sometimes, innocent people, innocent parents, would plead guilty because they were told by their lawyers that his testimony was so powerful and influential that they would be convicted even though they were innocent." Making conclusions based on preliminary results Koren's testimony had similar heft and in 2009 helped convict a Toronto area mother accused of feeding her toddler cocaine of several serious charges, including administering a noxious substance with the intent to endanger life. Lockyer first crossed paths with Koren while representing the mother during her appeal of the cocaine-related convictions. Lockyer said he had never dealt with a case involving hair-sample testing before and decided to have the results from Koren's lab looked over by a certified forensic toxicologist in Alberta. A lack of oversight by the world-renowned Hospital for Sick Children, known as SickKids, was cited as a contributing factor to a breakdown of accountability in both the Smith and Koren cases. The hospital says it has instituted new measures to ensure staff who will be working within the justice system receive adequate training. (CBC) The forensic toxicologist found the original test results were not nearly good enough to have been used in court. Lockyer says Koren argued his lab's testing methods were "gold standard," but it turned out the lab's work wasn't even worthy of a bronze. Lang's review found the lab was drawing definitive conclusions about the presence of drugs and alcohol based on hair samples tested with a preliminary screening test that was meant to be used only as a first step to weed out negative results. Positive results were supposed to be confirmed with a more robust test and not passed directly on to authorities. Motherisk drug tests should be reviewed in Nova Scotia, says lawyer Dr. Charles Smith: The man behind the inquiry Read the Motherisk report Read the Goudge report into Charles Smith scandal The lab used the test for five years between 2005 and 2010 even though the testing kits, as Lang writes in her report, "included an explicit warning for the user about the preliminary nature of the … results." Lang's review notes that even when the lab began doing more robust confirmation tests in 2010, lab workers didn't conduct those tests properly, rendering the results inaccurate. New oversight measures in place Lang writes that both the Smith and Koren debacles at SickKids "highlighted the dangers associated with having a laboratory within the institution that routinely provided a forensic service yet was led by individuals who lacked any forensic training." In an emailed statement, hospital spokeswoman Matet Nebres said SickKids now has mandatory training for any staff who have dealings with the justice system. Subpoenas and summonses now have to be reviewed by the hospital's legal department. The hospital shut down the Motherisk lab last spring, and Koren has retired from SickKids. But the ordeal is not over for parents who may have lost custody of their children based on the lab's faulty work. The province of Ontario has appointed a commissioner to look back at 25 years' worth of cases to determine which ones need to be re-examined. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ron Charles CBC News Ron Charles has been a general assignment reporter for CBC News since 1989, covering such diverse stories as the 1990 Oka Crisis, the 1998 Quebec ice storm and the 2008 global financial crisis. Before joining the CBC, Ron spent two years reporting on Montreal crime and courts for the Montreal Daily News. https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2019/02/22/former-head-of-sick-kids-motherisk-lab-gives-up-medical-licence-amid-investigation.html https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/motherisk-experts-forensic-testimony-1.3433881