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Crossley teacher to face hearing

Allegations include sexual abuse, misconduct at previous school BY JOHN CHICK Special to the VOICE An E. L.
DSBN headquarters
DSBN head office, St. Catharines. SUPPLIED

 

Allegations include sexual abuse, misconduct at previous school

BY JOHN CHICK Special to the VOICE

An E. L. Crossley teacher is awaiting a provincial disciplinary hearing over allegations made by a female student and four colleagues while he was working at a different school.

According to an Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) notice of hearing dated June 12, Bradley Ziegler is alleged to have, among other things, abused a student or students sexually, engaged in sexual misconduct, and failed to maintain the standards of the profession.

Ziegler has not been charged with a crime and no allegations have been proven in court.

The improprieties are alleged to have occurred at an unnamed Niagara Falls school during the 2017-18 school year. An employee of the District School Board of Niagara (DSBN) since 1998, Ziegler is currently listed as a technology teacher at Crossley.

Requests for comment from the DSBN and from Crossley Principal Janice Sargeant went unacknowledged. Gabrielle Barkany, a senior communications officer at the OCT, said last week that no hearing date for Ziegler had yet been set.

“The College’s legal counsel and the member’s legal counsel are in the process of setting a date for a disciplinary hearing,” Barkany said. “Once it will be set, it will be posted on our website.”

The OCT notice of hearing includes detailed allegations that the teacher made the student uncomfortable by staring at, poking, and attempting “to engage in play fighting” with her. Meanwhile, the four co-workers alleged that he, among other things, touched two of the colleagues’ buttocks, and told one that he had sexual dreams about her.