Two teachers censured for handling of sex assault

OTTAWA — Two teachers at an Ottawa private school have been found guilty of professional misconduct for their response to the sexual assault of a student during a 2007 school trip to Boston.

Alyssa Novick and Ian Middleton, who continue to teach at Ashley College, were found guilty Feb. 28 by a disciplinary committee panel of the Ontario College of Teachers.

Possible penalties range from an official admonishment to revocation of teaching certificates. A date for a penalty hearing has yet to be scheduled.

The disciplinary panel heard that a 16-year-old boy was confronted in his hotel room by four others. One student held the victim in a headlock while another violated him. Another student took video while the fourth watched.

Both teachers were accused of failing to report the assault to the victim’s parents in a timely manner and refusing a request from the parents to report the sexual assault to police.

Novick was additionally accused of falsely advising the student’s parents that he did not wish to report the assault to police and of discouraging the victim from reporting it to police.

Ashbury first suspended, then expelled, the four students. Three weeks later, Boston police charged the two students who had touched the victim with assault. Both pleaded guilty, one as an adult and the other as a juvenile. They were placed on probation and ordered to undergo counselling.

Ashbury College said in a statement Friday it was “both surprised and disappointed” by the disciplinary panel’s findings.