A former high school history teacher from the Windsor area faces charges of professional misconduct for allegedly making a litany of sexist, racist and inappropriate remarks to and about students over several years.
William Johan Fabel, who was fired in 2002 from teaching at St. Anne Catholic high school in Tecumseh, denied the allegations yesterday at the start of his disciplinary hearing before the Ontario College of Teachers.
The hearing was put over until Nov. 7 after the College tabled its allegations, none of which have been proven. Fabel and his lawyer refused to comment after the hearing.
The College alleges that from 1997 to 2002, Fabel made repeated sexual comments to his students, praised Adolf Hitler and Osama bin Laden as "geniuses," threatened several students with violence, taught that the Holocaust was an exaggeration, and denigrated Jews, blacks, Italians, Hindus, gays and lesbians.
The College also alleges that Fabel, who was then a reservist with the Windsor Regiment (RCAC), "spoke often about his military experiences, about weapons, hunting and guns" and frightened his students by describing "in detail how to slit someone's throat," the notice of hearing states.
On another occasion, "shortly after the Columbine shooting incident, (Fabel) came into his class, pretended to be a gunman and had his students cower under their desks," the notice alleges.
The allegations involve at least 16 students identified only by their initials, as well as female teachers at the school who "were afraid to report the member's behaviour for fear of reprisal by the member," it states.
Many of them are expected to testify over several days next month.
The notice of hearing contains more than 50 specific allegations of inappropriate behaviour, from suggestive comments about girls sucking on Popsicles to anti-Semitic remarks. The College claims that when Fabel learned one of his students had reported on him, he told several of his charges, "If I ever find out which one of you **** talkers was talking **** about me, I'll make sure you burn in hell."
It is unknown if Fabel is still teaching, but after he was fired by the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board, he took extra qualifications to teach at the junior level. His teaching certificate remains in good standing pending the outcome of the hearing.
Fabel earned his teaching degree in 1988 at the University of Toronto and in 1999, completed a master of education from the University of Windsor, where his thesis was titled, "Leadership Attributes of Elementary and Secondary Panel Principals."
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A LITANY OF HATRED
Below are allegations made by the Ontario College of Teachers against former Windsor-area high school history teacher William Johan Fabel. The allegations are contained in a "notice of hearing" presented into evidence at Fabel's disciplinary hearing yesterday.
Fabel denies the allegations and will challenge them when the hearing resumes Nov. 7.
- Commented that he had a hidden camera under all the girls' desks so that he could look up their kilts.
- Spoke about his own sexual activities and encouraged his students to share their sexual experiences.
- Told a student that he was going to "tie her up by her ankles and hang her from the ceiling wearing her kilt."
- Asked a "quiet, shy male student ... 'Are you going to be a serial killer?' " and suggested to the class, "This is the kind of kid we have to worry about."
- Told a student "who suffers from a medical condition" that during the Holocaust she would have been killed because of her disability.
- Referred to the classes of a teacher of religion as a waste of time and commented that "this nun doesn't get any."
- Told students that the only career Italians could pursue "was with cement and that they are hairy and fat because they eat too much."
- Told students that blacks and Hindus "work at 7-Eleven" and that blacks are "still slaves, and do not fit into society."
- Used the term [n-word] and told his students that he had a "[n-word] friend."
- Told students that he did not like Jews and stated, "They are not going to make it anywhere in society."
- Told students -- and taught -- that the Holocaust was an exaggeration.
- Told students Adolph Hitler and Osama bin Laden were "geniuses because of their ability to get all the people into concentration camps and to work out huge disasters."
- Told students that there was a problem with Chinese and Japanese people and that they were "overrunning British Columbia."
- Told students that there was "no room in the world for gay and lesbian people."
- Threatened a student whom he found guilty of a uniform infraction by saying, "Next time I see you out of uniform, I'll burn you so bad you'll wish you died as a child."
- Said to the mother of two students at the school at the beginning of parent-teacher interview, "Who do you want to talk about first? Dumb or Dumber?"
- On at least one occasion in class, the teacher described in detail how to slit someone's throat.
- On one occasion, shortly after the Columbine school shooting incident, came into his class, pretended to be a gunman and had his students cower under their desks.
- Following one parent-teacher interview, remarked to a student that the student's mother was a "MILF,' meaning [deleted]
- Said of a specific student, "someone that wide and that poorly dressed cannot be missed."
