EDUCATION: Charges against Jefferys officials thrown out
Principal Charis Newton-Thompson and vice-principals Silvio Tallevi and Stan Gordon had faced the charges under the Child and Family Services Act for failing to report an alleged gang sexual assault on a female student in a school washroom in October 2006.
The administrators, who were put on administrative suspension last June, had faced a fine up to $1,000 if convicted.
However, Justice of the Peace Gabriel Johns ruled Thursday the charges were laid beyond the six-month time limit allowed under the Provincial Offences Act.
However, a critical question became when the clock should start ticking - within six months of the alleged assault or within half a year of the alleged crime being reported.
The alleged attack came to light last June through a school safety panel headed by human rights lawyer Julian Falconer, which was convened after Jefferys student Jordan Manners became Toronto's first pupil shot to death in a school.
The May 2007 murder of 15-year-old Jordan and the alleged sexual assault were not connected.
Falconer's panel reported the alleged sexual attack to the school board, which called the police. However, allegations then came to light that school officials were aware of the alleged attack at the time it occurred but had not reported it to police or children's aid.
Last December, which was 14 months after the alleged assault and six months after the panel released the information publicly, the Jefferys administrators were charged in December under the Child and Family Services Act for failing to report the incident.
Tallevi has retired since he and his colleagues were put on suspension. The school board will decide in the next month what steps will be taken with Newton-Thompson and Gordon.
Since the alleged sexual assault, six males have been charged with gang sexual assault, forcible confinement and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.
