Penalties for alleged relationship with male student could include reprimand, suspension, revocation of teaching certificate
The Ontario College of Teachers has launched a formal discipline case against a Sudbury teacher who is alleged to have sexually abused a male student from another school board and to have breached a court‑ordered release condition.
The College’s Investigation Committee has directed that the conduct of Kimberly Anne Marie Shaw be referred to the Discipline Committee under section 26(5) of the Ontario College of Teachers Act, 1996.
The notice alleges that Shaw “is guilty of professional misconduct as defined in the Act” on multiple grounds. These include that “she abused a student or students sexually,” that “she engaged in sexual misconduct as defined in section 1 of the Act,” and that she “contravened a law, the contravention of which is relevant to the member’s suitability to hold a certificate of qualification and registration.”
The Notice of Hearing further alleges that Shaw “committed acts that, having regard to all the circumstances, would reasonably be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional” and that she “engaged in conduct unbecoming a member,” contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97.
This comes after Shaw pleaded guilty to assault in a case based on the same incident, according to a Sudbury Star report. Charges of sexual exploitation and sexual assault were dropped, as was one count of failing to comply with a condition of her release order after she contacted the victim.
In 2025, another Ontario teacher pleaded guilty to multiple sex crimes involving her students.
Alleged relationship and conduct
According to the document about Shaw, she was a member of the Ontario College of Teachers and employed by the Rainbow District School Board as a long‑term occasional teacher at an unnamed Sudbury school.
The notice alleges that between in 2022, Shaw “engaged in a personal and/or dating relationship" with the male student. The college says that, on one or more occasions, she communicated with the student on social media, including sending or receiving explicit photographs, invited him to stay at her personal residence overnight, attended events with him, and gave him a handwritten journal that detailed their relationship.
The college further alleges that between Shaw had sexual contact with the student that included kissing and “engaging in sexual intercourse with the student at her personal residence and/or in her vehicle.”
Criminal charges and conviction
On or about Nov. 30, 2022, Shaw was charged with “sexual exploitation contrary to section 153 of the Criminal Code and sexual assault contrary to section 271 of the Criminal Code,” the notice states. She was released from custody on a release order that prohibited her from, among other things, communicating directly or indirectly with the student.
The notice alleges that in or about December 2022, Shaw breached a condition under her release order by communicating with the student and was subsequently charged with “failure to comply with a condition of her release order contrary to section 145(5)(a) of the Criminal Code.”
According to the document, in September 2024, Shaw “was found guilty of the lesser included offence of assault contrary to section 266 of the Criminal Code and the other charges were withdrawn.”
Hearing process and possible penalties
The Discipline Committee will now hold a hearing under sections 30, 30.2, 32 and 32.1 of the Ontario College of Teachers Act to decide whether the allegations are true and whether Kimberly Anne Marie Shaw is guilty of professional misconduct.
If the Discipline Committee finds her guilty of professional misconduct, Shaw could face a reprimand, suspension or revocation of a teaching certificate, and conditions or limitations on the right to teach.
Previously, the Court of Appeal for British Columbia dealt with a case involving vicarious liability where an organisation was sued for sexual abuse perpetrated by a volunteer against a young person in their care.
