Ontario man who admitted to sexually abusing children temporarily blocked from becoming lawyer: tribunal

An Ontario man who admitted to sexually abusing children has been temporarily banned from becoming a lawyer after a provincial regulator appealed the decision.

The man, identified only as 'AA' due to a publication ban, was deemed eligible for an Ontario law licence after he was deemed "of good character" by the Law Society Tribunal (LST) in July -- a ruling appealed by the Law Society of Ontario shortly after.

In a hearing on Wednesday, that motion was granted. 

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 “The Law Society’s motion is granted with the Chair of the panel dissenting,” the Law Society Tribunal (LST) wrote in its appearance summary following the three-panel hearing on Wednesday. “Panel is unanimously of the view that this appeal should be expedited.” This puts the decision on hold until the appeal is heard by the tribunal’s appeal division.

The incidents of sexual abuse took place on three separate occasions that year, when AA was living in another country and working towards becoming a “religious leader," according to the LST's initial ruling.

One of the children’s fathers confronted AA, the documents state, and after, he disclosed his actions to several parties, including his then-wife and a child protection agency. No criminal charges were laid against AA, but he was put under conditions stating he had to be supervised when around children.

The initial ruling allowed AA to practice law so long as he doesn’t meet with minors while unsupervised, completes certain administrative requirements, and is called to the bar. The decision then permitted him to practice law after it concluded that due to AA’s “rehabilitative efforts,” “remorse,” and the fact there had not been any additional incidents of reported abuse since 2009. 

In the LSO’s appeal, it alleged the tribunal “erred by misapprehending evidence a manner that impacted its analysis on the central question of whether the respondent was of good character.” The appeal explained the Tribunal erred in doing so by accepting AA’s testimony “without scrutiny,” not considering or ignoring relevant factors, and “failing to deal in a meaningful way with the evidence” when conducting its analysis.

On top of filing a motion for stay, the LSO challenged the publication ban of AA’s name, which was put in place after the tribunal determined that revealing his name could lead to the identification of his children, who are unaware of the abuse.

If the LSO’s appeal is successful, AA would be prohibited from practicing law in Ontario.

With files from Abby O’Brien and Phil Tsekouras