Victims tell of ‘disturbing’ workplace

Workers filmed by Toronto Public Health supervisor felt office was toxic after arrest, though city says they received full support

Women who were secretly filmed by a Toronto Public Health supervisor in his office and the union representing public service workers say the city didn’t do enough to support them in the workplace.

After Robert Coughlin, 69, was reported by a whistleblower, he was investigated, then fired by the city and charged by Toronto police last year with several counts of voyeurism and trespassing. He pleaded guilty this May to surreptitiously making visual recordings of women for a sexual purpose between January 2008 and July 2015.

According to victims, Coughlin hid cameras under his desk, in his backpack and used his cellphone to record women who were called into his office. Coughlin, whose role did not require him to interact with the public, made $106,338.86 in 2014, according to the provincial salary disclosure list.

Interviews with victims and internal emails obtained by the Star show that in the aftermath of Coughlin’s arrest, delayed communication from city management and a request for victims to help with office cleanup contributed to a “disturbing” work environment where fear and rumours circulated for weeks.

“I think they wanted to shove it under the rug and pretend it didn’t happen,” said one victim who spoke with the Star and whose identity is protected by a court-ordered publication ban. “The city hasn’t really done much, in my opinion.”

The city says Toronto Public Health (TPH) — which is tasked with the health and well-being of residents — went above and beyond to support the women.

Spokeswoman Jackie DeSouza said in an email that public health took the matter “very seriously and acted immediately in the best interest of our employees.” She outlined a series of communications sent between management and staff in the aftermath of the charges.

Victims said that adding insult to injury, several staff members — including some victims — were asked to help clean out Coughlin’s office ahead of a new supervisor taking over.

One victim who spoke to the Star said cameras that had not been removed were discovered by staff. Another said she understood items that possibly aided in filming were found, such as a tripod made from pencils.

The union says they weren’t alerted to that request until after the office was cleaned, but CUPE Local 79 president Tim Maguire said they would have raised it with the city as a health and safety concern that could have further traumatized workers.

In November 2015, manager for planning and performance Luli Gjeka sent an email, obtained by the Star, to a group of staff and asked for help sorting workrelated files from Coughlin’s office.

“Can you please dedicate a few hours this week to assist in sorting out files that are stored in (performance management) Supervisor’s office?” the email read. Gjeka said that the sorting could take place in a meeting room in the building and asked it be completed in a few days.

Two days later, director for performance and standards Debra Williams sent an email responding to concerns raised by staff members. In the email, Williams wrote that staff cleaned out the files and that they did it in Coughlin’s office where some had been victimized.

Despite the boardroom being suggested for sorting, Williams wrote “those who volunteered to go through program documents did this in the office of the former supervisor” and that managers only became aware of that after the sorting had started.

Williams wrote to reassure that the team was a “priority” and that previously only management had access to the locked office.

The emails also said that despite management sweeping the office for any of Coughlin’s remaining personal belongings or private personnel information, some items were missed.

“We acknowledge that despite our best efforts to ensure that only program related documents remained for review, some improperly filed information, not related to projects, was unknowingly included in program related folders,” Williams wrote. A separate email suggested those materials included items such as resumés.

In a separate email, Gjeka apologized, saying: “While I am sorry that this happened and I understand your concern, I wanted you to know that I take seriously the issue of privacy of staff info and I take all reasonable precautions in my day-today work to protect it.”

DeSouza said staff were asked to help with sorting work-related files “to ensure workflow continuity.”

Gaps in communication with staff also lead to “unease” in the workplace, the union said. It took a week after Coughlin was arrested on Aug. 6, 2015 for nowretired chief medical officer of health Dr. David McKeown to write to employees in a department-wide email alerting them to the charges.

“I realize this is a difficult time for many staff at TPH and appreciate your professionalism and support for one another in this situation,” he wrote in an email obtained by the Star. McKeown also in- cluded the phone number for the police officer in charge and an employee assistance hotline.

Toronto police didn’t publicize the arrest. The service does frequently put out news releases related to voyeurism charges, asking for help from the public.

In this case, police spokeswoman Meaghan Gray said, “the investigator had no reason to believe at the time that there were additional victims or that any new information was required in order to further their investigation, so a decision was made to not issue a news release.”

DeSouza said that a day after Coughlin’s arrest, his immediate team was informed about the situation by management and offered “support and time off, if needed.”

She said staff was given updates when available “or when it was appropriate do to so, given the police investigation was ongoing at the time.”

Eighteen days after Coughlin was arrested, McKeown sent a followup email citing ongoing “concerns and questions.”

One of those concerns was that when police swept a downtown public health office, officers searched the washrooms — which employees saw happen but were not updated about.

“No cameras were found,” McKeown wrote in his Aug. 24 email. He also clarified that Coughlin was no longer employed and not allowed to be in the building.

“We’re all just supposed to silently endure this . . . How would that be enough?” VICTIM HER IDENTITY IS PROTECTED BY A PUBLICATION BAN

McKeown also announced that three weeks after the arrest, management would be holding an “informal town hall” for staff to address their concerns and questions, which was held Aug. 27.

Maguire, the union president, told the Star that while some of the basic protocols were in place — including an immediate investigation once allegations were brought forward — management could have more proactively involved the union to ensure employees felt supported.

The washroom issue was a prime example, he said.

“Because of that lapse, the police were searching for other cameras in the workplace and people didn’t know what was going on and so rumours started going about,” he said. “I think the women that were victims here were justifiably traumatized.”

Despite the city offering counselling services, the women who spoke with the Star said it wasn’t enough.

One woman told the Star the informal town hall was followed by a day of counsellors being available in a room on the same floor as management, which made some uncomfortable coming forward. She said others have maxed out the allowed number of days off.

“We’re all just supposed to silently endure this,” said the woman, whose identity is also protected by a publication ban. “How would that be enough?”

The first woman, who no longer works at public health, said the city never contacted her, but friends alerted her to the charges. A detective, who she said was respectful, contacted her only to take her statement.

“I didn’t get any support from anybody,” the woman said. “It’s kind of like you fend for yourself.”

DeSouza said it is “very difficult for the city to determine what our duty would be to a former employee when we don’t have any details on when she left, where specifically she worked, etc.”