Ashok Jain

This matter came before a Panel of the Discipline Committee on October 16,17 & 18, 2000 and June 15, 2001.

Background
In December 1999 the College of Occupational Therapists of Ontario received a formal complaint concerning Mr. Ashok Jain. At this time, Mr. Jain was a member of College council and the Chair of the Discipline Committee. The complainant was an occupational therapist with a provisional practice certificate who was being supervised by Mr. Jain.

The complaints committee was able to review submissions made by both the complainant and Mr. Jain. At the conclusion of their investigation, the panel concluded that Mr. Jain’s actions were of serious concern and the panel referred the case to the discipline committee for a hearing.

Mr. Jain took a leave of absence from his positions with the College.

Summary of the Complaint
Mr. Jain was the complainant’s supervisor for a period of approximately a month. During this time, Mr. Jain taught the complainant about various aspects of occupational therapy practice in Canada. The complainant worked out of Mr. Jain’s home, where his private practice was located and he taught her how to use a computer and format her reports. There were no other persons at the home during this time as his family was abroad. Both Mr. Jain and the complainant had similar backgrounds and shared the same religious belief. The complainant stated that she respected Mr. Jain because he was a member of the College, he was a member of the Council, he was an elder of her community and she addressed him as “Sir”. The incidents in question occurred on one specific day.

The Allegations
The allegations presented by the College included that on one specific day, Mr. Jain initiated a conversation with the complainant concerning sexual matters and that this conversation became quite personal and explicit. Further Mr. Jain invited the complainant to his bedroom to demonstrate various sexual positions for someone with back pain and, later in another room showed the complainant a pornographic videotape stating that it was for educational purposes. (The video was presented as an exhibit) During the viewing of this video Mr. Jain put his arm around the complainant’s shoulder and stroked her arm and tried to hold her hand. He also indicated that he wanted to kiss the complainant but that he would not do so. The complainant expressed on several occasions that she was not interested in the discussions or the viewing of the videotape. The complainant was very uncomfortable. The College summarized the above allegations stating that Mr. Jain’s actions constituted failing to maintain the standard of practice, unprofessional conduct and failing to supervise an assistant properly.

The Member’s Plea
Mr. Jain entered a plea of not guilty.

Decision
The Discipline Panel found Mr. Jain guilty of professional misconduct in that he engaged in conduct relevant to the practice of the profession that having regard to all circumstances would be regarded by members of the profession as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional and failing to supervise an assistant appropriately. The panel determined that there were serious boundary violations that resulted from this power imbalance. During the submissions, the Panel determined that there were certain facts to which the parties both agreed upon. Even the agreed upon facts constituted professional misconduct. In areas where there were differences in the testimonies, the Panel determined that the information provided by the complainant was accurate. The Panel determined that Mr. Jain’s actions were for his own pleasure and that there was nothing about his actions that could be perceived as being for educational purposes as he maintained.

Penalty and Costs
The parties presented submissions to the penalty and the panel ordered the following:
  • Mr. Jain will receive an oral reprimand to be recorded on the public portion of the register
  • Mr. Jain will be required to complete a boundaries training course, approved by the Registrar, at his own expense
  • Mr. Jain will not be able to supervise students or provisional practising occupational therapists for a period of 4 years
  • Mr. Jain will be required to provide a copy of this summary to any person with whom he has a supervisory relationship over the next four years and that the supervisee acknowledge in writing that they have reviewed it
  • Mr. Jain’s certificate of registration will be suspended for a period of four months commencing September 1, 2001.
  • Mr. Jain will pay $20,000 to the College over a period of 5 years towards the costs and expenses of prosecuting this case.
In addition to appearing on the website, this summary will be available in the annual report. Please feel free to contact the Manager of Investigations & Resolutions should you require additional information.