Howard Goodman, ex Toronto school trustee, has charges dropped

A former Toronto District School Board trustee says he knew that charges of forcible confinement and criminal harassment against him would be dropped. 

"From the beginning, I knew that the charges against me had no foundation or merit," Howard Goodman said outside court Wednesday shortly after being cleared of the charges.

Police had alleged that Goodman, 63, harassed a person for almost a year and on one occasion forcibly confined the unnamed person.

Sheila Cary-Meagher, a veteran trustee, told CBC News last year she believed she witnessed the alleged confinement, and that the victim was TDSB head Donna Quan.

​On Wednesday, Quan told CBC News that she "brought forward concerns based on what I had experienced firsthand and on what others had reported. 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," Quan said.

In a statement, Goodman's lawyer, Mark Sandler said there was "no credible evidence that Mr. Goodman ever prevented or attempted to prevent Ms. Quan from leaving" a TDSB office in January 2014. 

"On the contrary, another trustee opened the door to the office, stuck her head in and communicated with them twice. Mr. Goodman indicated to her that Ms. Quan could leave any time she wanted.  When Ms. Quan said that she needed to go to another meeting, she left unimpeded."

Sandler added that "the true facts did not support [Quan's] complaint."

Goodman was first elected as a trustee in Ward 8, Eglinton-Lawrence, in 2003. At that time, he succeeded Kathleen Wynne, now Ontario's premier, after she made the jump to provincial politics.

Goodman is a father of two and lives in the ward where he served as a trustee for 11 years.