The Discipline Committee ordered that the teaching certificate of Robert Helmut Brandstetter be revoked for pursuing an inappropriate personal relationship with a student (Student 1) and sexually abusing her.
During the time in question, Brandstetter was employed as a teacher by the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board.
Brandstetter, who was certified to teach in November 1992, did not attend the hearing on August 18, 2025, but had legal representation.
Brandstetter engaged in a pattern of grooming behaviour and singled out Student 1 by:
- Regularly asking to speak with her during lunch hours in the classroom, where he asked her questions about her personal life and health issues and complimented her schoolwork.
- Giving Student 1 special reading assignments that were not provided to other students, some of which contained sexual content, including one that referred to female spiritual desires and the workings of the vagina.
- Making inappropriate and sexual comments about her body.
- Spending time with Student 1 off school property after school hours. On multiple occasions, Brandstetter would pick her up in his car after school and drive her to a wooded area. During these car rides, he would make inappropriate comments of a sexual nature, including in the form of sexual innuendo. Once at the wooded area, he would sit down together with her and would rub his hands along her shoulders and hold her hand. They also smoked marijuana together during these outings.
Brandstetter pursued a romantic and sexual relationship with Student 1 after she graduated. He had sexual intercourse with her and sent her romantic letters and cards signed “love.” During this time, Brandstetter continued to act in a teaching role to Student 1, occasionally assisting her with her university schoolwork.
Brandstetter was charged with sexual assault and sexual exploitation against Student 1, but the charges were subsequently stayed due to the Crown’s delay in prosecuting them.
The Discipline Committee panel found Brandstetter guilty of professional misconduct and ordered that his Certificate of Qualification and Registration be revoked and that he receive a reprimand.
In their written decision, the panel stated: “By repeatedly engaging in serious professional boundary violations, including grooming and sexually abusing Student 1, [Brandstetter] significantly damaged the reputation of the teaching profession and breached the trust that students, parents and the public place in teachers.”
