Note - November 25, 2015: Howard Goodman was cleared of criminal harassment and forcible confinement charges on June 10, 2015. See follow-up article here.

In an unprecedented development at the embattled Toronto District School Board, veteran Trustee Howard Goodman has been charged with one count each of forcible confinement and criminal harassment.

Police allege the harassment began in September 2013 and continued to the present, and say both charges involve one victim whom sources have identified as Director of Education Donna Quan.

Goodman, who did not seek re-election but remains in office for the next 18 days, was arrested early Wednesday morning and later released, police said. He is set to appear in court Dec. 18.

“It’s completely and utterly shocking — I have never heard of anything like this before,” said Trustee Briony Glassco.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen, but this can’t be good for the school board and it can’t be good for anybody. We have so many students who rely on us to provide them with a good education and this is just devastating.”

Each of the charges carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. This latest blow to the scandal-plagued board comes amid ongoing tensions between staff and trustees, including several complaints about the behaviour of elected officials.

After Goodman was asked for comment, his lawyer William Trudell emailed reporters late Wednesday stating: “Mr. Goodman has a deep commitment to students and the education system and will continue to take his responsibilities as a trustee seriously. He has a great deal of respect for the criminal justice system and regrets that it is being misused for political purposes . . . He is innocent and will, of course, vigorously defend himself against these charges.”

Details of the alleged confinement were not provided by police. Goodman has previously told the Star about a heated discussion he had with Quan last January in a board office, during which he pressed her for answers as to why she had not called for an audit committee meeting.

He said he later “popped in” to see her, “and twice during that conversation, in a small office, I was standing close to the door, and twice opened it to leave” but said Quan wanted to continue talking.

In a previous incident in December of last year, after another emotional exchange, Goodman emailed Quan saying: “I realize that my behaviour might have caused you some discomfort. My frustration over the ongoing reluctance to call an audit committee meeting caused me to fail to live up to my personal expectations for measured respectful discussion.

“Though it is impossible to recreate the exchange, I have no doubt that my tone was harsher and louder than I would have liked it to be. For that, I unreservedly apologize.” He goes on to note the difference in their physical sizes, “ and that our standing (rather than sitting) during this exchange might have caused you further discomfort.”

Longtime Trustee Sheila Cary-Meagher said she and at least two board staffers witnessed the heated discussion last January between Goodman and Quan in the office. Cary-Meagher told the Star that when she went to see Quan that day for a pre-arranged meeting, Goodman was pressed against the inside of the office door and when she opened it slightly, he pushed it closed.

Cary-Meagher said she later tried again to gain entry, which gave Quan a chance to exit. Cary-Meagher added that she lodged a complaint with the board’s trustee conduct committee, but it went nowhere.

Last spring, Goodman issued yet another apology — this time a public one — after a raucous meeting at board headquarters, explaining that he was frustrated when he didn’t get answers from staff.

At that time, Quan and three senior educators wrote to then-chair Chris Bolton, saying they felt intimidated and that this was not the first time staff had been “subjected to abusive, threatening and insulting comments by elected officials.” (Quan had no comment Wednesday, stating that the matter is before the courts.)

In a March newsletter to constituents, the 63-year-old Goodman said “unflattering reports” about his behaviour in the media came amidst concerns of lack of accountability at the board.

Trustee Sam Sotiropoulos also said, via Twitter, that he too lodged a complaint about the incident, though he did not witness it.

Goodman first stood for election in 2003, succeeding Kathleen Wynne as trustee for Eglinton-Lawrence.

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With files from Jacques Gallant and Olivia Carville