Police still investigating educational assistant arrested on child pornography charges
Hamilton police say new information has surfaced relating to the arrest of a Hamilton educator facing child pornography charges.
Investigators have received information from the public and will begin to interview individuals," spokesperson Jackie Penman said in an email Friday.
No further details were available at the time.
Educational assistant (EA) Paul Goodman, 49, was arrested at St. Ann Catholic Elementary School in central Hamilton on April 4 to face child pornography charges related to a student at the school.
Police said they identified a victim as a child under the age of six.
The 49-year-old is facing three charges, including possession of child pornography, making child pornography and making child pornography available.
Investigators said they located evidence on a device, but offered no further details about the device.
The Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board says EAs may be provided with a laptop (or iPad or cellphone) for a particular purpose but that would not be a standard practice."
Goodman had access to children," said acting Det. Sgt. Ryan Hashimoto, causing police to believe there may be more victims.
Involvement with children in the Hamilton area
Goodman had been involved with Scouts Canada since 2000, the majority of the time as a leader (known as a Scouter") in Hamilton. Since 2019, he had been part of a committee responsible for various administrative tasks and activities," Scouts Canada spokesperson Kayleigh Kanoza said in an email.
According to the organization's website, groups may participate in activities like hiking, campfires and overnight trips. But Kanoza said types of activities and their frequency vary from group to group."
Kanoza said the organization's policies forbid one-on-one activities between youth and leaders.
There are absolutely no exceptions to the two-Scouter rule," she said Thursday.
The Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board, however, says there are instances where an EA might be alone with a student" at school, including sensory breaks, exercise and personal care.
If a student has high needs for toileting such as changing or lifting, EAs would likely be in pairs," said spokesperson Marnie Jadon in an email. But not if there was a manageable level of independence, in which case the EA may assist the student alone."
The Spectator asked for Goodman's complete work history, but the board only gave partial details.
Goodman was hired by the board in May of 2014 as a lunchroom supervisor. He was then hired as casual EA - an on-call" position, according to a job description - from March 2016 to August 2017.
The board did not say where he worked during this period.
In August 2017, he was hired as a permanent EA at St. Patrick Catholic School in central Hamilton, where he worked until 2021. In 2021, Goodman was hired at St. Ann, where he worked until he was arrested.
As of Monday, Goodman is on unpaid leave, the board said.
Educational assistants largely unregulated in Ontario
Educational assistants work closely with some of the most vulnerable students in the school system. Yet, they are among the least educated and lowest paid, and have little accountability.
But, unlike teachers and early-childhood educators, who have colleges that certify and hold accountable practitioners, there is no official regulatory agency for EAs in Ontario.
Unions say some EAs may be part of other organizations, such as the Ontario Association of Child and Youth Care and the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers, if they have a particular designation.
At the Catholic board, educational assistants are required to have a college diploma in educational support or equivalent. It is unclear whether this is required at all Ontario school boards.
We've certainly professionalized the role of being a school teacher," said Arthur Schafer, founding director of the Centre for Professional and Applied Ethics at the University of Manitoba. We haven't done that with special-needs educational assistants."
A regulatory body or association wouldn't need to step in where a crime has been committed - the law does that, Schafer said. If convicted, Goodman's name would be added to a child abuse registry, making him unemployable.
But it could help prevent abuse in the first place.
If (educational assistants) are expected to be part of the system of adults who constitute the child protection system in schools, then they should ... have a moral code, which they accept and which imposes obligations on them, and which gives them not just the obligation to report abuse, but the right not to be dismissed as a result of whistle-blowing behaviour."
Kate McCullough is an education reporter at The Spectator. kmccullough@thespec.com