Letter from the Ontario (Canada) Catholic Teachers Association to their membership.
June 5, 2008 - A letter to the union's members was entered as evidence Thursday in the trial of F.J. Brennan teacher Mark Baggio.
Dear Colleague,TT - Baggio, 34, is on trial charged with two counts of sexual assault, two counts of sexual exploitation and two counts of corrupting a child in relation to two girls he is alleged to have had sexual relationships with between 2000 and 2005, beginning when the girls were 14. The girls were students of Baggio's at F.J. Brennan Catholic high school. He was arrested in December 2005.
It has come to our attention that several teachers have been participating in interviews with police investigators recently. If you have not yet done so, you may be called and asked to participate in an interview in the future. For your information you are not obliged in any way to participate in an interview with investigators. If you wish to participate voluntarily, that would be your choice.
You should know that you have the right to end an interview at any time. Your may want to end an interview if you feel like you are not being treated properly and/or if you feel intimidated in any way or for any other reason. Also keep in mind that you as a teacher should not give "opinions" or offer professional "judgments" of your colleagues. You should stick to the facts as they pertain to the case at hand and not offer extraneous information or speculations.
Where interviews occur at work sites, we have a concern that an "interrogation" may be a form of harassment or intimidation. Our employer has a duty to maintain a work environment free from harassment. We have raised this issue with the Human Resources department and we are awaiting their response.
