A District School Board Ontario North East (DSB1) teacher's certificate has been revoked after pleading guilty in a professional misconduct hearing to having sex with a student in early 2019.
The Ontario College of Teachers held a virtual disciplinary hearing Oct. 21 for Maija Lynn Nuhn, who was found guilty of professional misconduct. Nuhn was not present and was represented by lawyer Andrea Wobick.
Nuhn's teaching certificate has been revoked and she will receive a written reprimand from the three-person panel.
DSB1 covers a large region that includes the area from Timmins to New Liskeard to Hearst. The details provided did not state where Nuhn was working at the time and there is a publication ban on any details that could identify the student.
DSB1 declined to comment on the outcome of the hearing.
In a statement earlier this week, the school board said student safety is their main priority.
"After a confidential internal investigation, DSB1 referred this matter to the Ontario College of Teachers," it reads.
Ontario College of Teachers' lawyer Noam Uri and Wobick submitted a shared statement of facts to the disciplinary panel.
Those details were not read during the hearing. The notice for the hearing broke down the allegations that Nuhn pleaded guilty to, however.
In or around January 2019, Nuhn engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a male student. During that time, they communicated on social media and she kissed, touched and/or fondled the student, performed oral sex on the student, and they had sex.
Among the professional misconduct items that Nuhn pleaded guilty to are: abusing a student or students psychologically or emotionally, abusing a student or students sexually and/or engaging in sexual abuse of a student or students, committing acts that "would reasonably be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional," and engaging in conduct unbecoming of a member.
Because the misconduct includes sexual abuse of a student, the Ontario College of Teachers' act mandates the individual's teaching certificate be revoked and the member be reprimanded by the committee.
In light of Nuhn's co-operation, the joint penalty submission asked for no fines.
“The member has relieved the student from having to come to testify and saved the college time and resources,” said Uri.
Wobick said the written reprimand is an individual deterrent as Nuhn will hear directly from the panel. It is also a general deterrent because it will be reported publicly.
A written reprimand, said Wobick, will send a "strong message" that the conduct is unacceptable to both the individual and the profession.
The panel accepted the joint penalty submission and there will be a written reprimand with the reasoning.
The discipline committee's decision and its reasoning will be posted on the OCT's public register here in the coming months.
Nuhn received her teaching certificate and registration in 2007. She has not been teaching since June 2019.
