Criminal harassment and forcible confinement charges against former Toronto District School Board trustee Howard Goodman have been dropped by the Crown.
Goodman confirmed to CTV Toronto that the Crown dropped the criminal charges against him in a Toronto court on Wednesday.
"This morning the charges against me were dropped, as I had known from the beginning they would be," Goodman said in an email.
Goodman was arrested and charged last November after a complaint was filed over harassment and confinement allegations linked to the then-school trustee.
Police did not reveal the name of the alleged victim at the time, but trustees told CTV Toronto it was TDSB director of education Donna Quan.
Quan issued a statement on Wednesday in response to the Crown dropping the charges.
"I brought forward concerns on what I had experienced firsthand and on what others had reported," she said.
"The conduct was considered to be serious enough that police were notified and subsequently resulted in charges being laid. In the end, it is up to the Crown to determine the probability of a conviction and I respect their decision. Now it is time to move on."
In early 2014, Goodman sent an email to Quan apologizing for his behaviour at a February planning meeting after several witnesses accused him of bullying her. At the time, some trustees said that Goodman had been aggressive with Quan for months. Trustee Sheila Cary-Meagher said she witnessed an incident where Goodman allegedly confined Quan.
After the planning meeting, Quan penned her own letter to the chair, addressing the culture of fear at the board and the need to discuss the "threatening and intimidating behaviour by a trustee." It was also signed by four associate board directors.
Quan announced at the time that off-duty police officers would be attending future meetings to curb bullying between colleagues.
Goodman was a trustee for Ward 8 (Eglinton-Lawrence) for 11 years. He did not seek re-election during October’s municipal election.
