The Ontario College of Teachers is holding a disciplinary hearing against a former Newmarket teacher who allegedly sexually harassed students while working for York Catholic District School Board.
The college has put out a notice of hearing regarding Ryan Imgrund for several breaches of conduct under the Ontario College of Teachers Act. These alleged breaches include abusing a student psychologically or emotionally and abusing a student sexually. The hearing has yet to be scheduled, with the notice dated Aug. 18.
The breaches have not been tested in a disciplinary hearing or court of law. NewmarketToday has not received a response from Imgrund as of publication time.
The list of allegations said that while on an athletic trip in 2017, Imgrund acted inappropriately toward four students of a girls' team by engaging in a personal group chat, sending messages to their phones in late hours and asking students to meet him at the pool late at night.
The notice also alleges Imgrund engaged in an inappropriate relationship with one student between 2017 and 2021, which includes personal messages, shirtless photographs of himself, and receiving photographs of the student, including one in her bathing suit.
“If you don’t say I’m good looking, I’ll cry,” the notice of hearing quotes Imgrund as allegedly saying to a student.
The Newmarket teacher left York Catholic District School Board in March 2021, according to his LinkedIn. After gaining notoriety for his pandemic statistical analysis and appearing in numerous news articles, he became a full-time biostatistician and corporate consultant.
Clinical research organization and consulting firm dicentra hired Imgrund for its science advisory board in November 2021.
NewmarketToday did not receive a reply to a request for comment from York Catholic District School Board before publication time.
The report alleges Imgrund did several other inappropriate things relating to the student with whom he had an inappropriate relationship. These included asking to borrow the student's shorts to wear on Halloween and asking a guidance counsellor to put the student in his class.
The notice also alleges him to have taken students on long drives alone in his personal vehicle.
The notice of hearing strikes the students' names and some of the details of the allegations to protect their identities.
The date for the hearing has not yet been set.
If someone is found guilty under the Ontario College of Teachers Act, penalties can include revoking any certificate held under the act and a fine of up to $5,000. If the misconduct includes sexual abuse, the college could also require reimbursement to pay for the therapy of the student victims.
However, Imgrund resigned from the teachers college June 8.
NewmarketToday will provide updates on this story as it develops, including on the results of the hearing.
