Former Teacher Agrees Never to Teach Again After Owen Sound Guilty Plea
Douglas Wagter pleaded guilty in 2024 to an indecent act at an Owen Sound facility the year before. He has now given up his teaching certificate for good.
A man who held an Ontario teaching certificate has agreed never to teach again, nearly two years after pleading guilty in an Owen Sound courtroom to committing an indecent act in front of two boys at a city recreation facility.
The Ontario College of Teachers’ public register lists Douglas William Wagter’s certificate as “Cancelled – Resigned” and carries a notation summarizing the criminal proceeding.
A notice of hearing issued by the College, linked from the same register entry, sets out the allegations in full. Owen Sound Current has reviewed both documents. It has not obtained the court file.
On July 15, 2026, according to the register, Wagter acknowledged that his resignation from the College is irrevocable and undertook never to reapply for or seek reinstatement of his certificate, and never to work or teach again in any position requiring College membership.
He gave those undertakings while disciplinary proceedings were pending.
What the notice of hearing alleged
The notice, signed by College registrar Linda Lacroix on February 17, 2026, alleged Wagter committed professional misconduct by contravening a law relevant to his suitability to hold a certificate and by engaging in conduct unbecoming a member.
It alleged that in April 2023, he bought a day pass at a recreation facility in Owen Sound and went to the fitness area, where boys from a team were training.
He then entered a changeroom at the same time as two of them and spoke to them while fully nude, the notice alleged, and continued speaking to them while naked in the shower area, where they saw him urinate.
The College redacted the facility’s name and both students’ ages from the public version of the notice. The document describes no connection between Wagter and the two students, and none between the incident and any school.
The criminal proceeding
Wagter was charged on or about June 2, 2023. The charges were amended twice, and on October 17, 2024 he pleaded guilty before Justice K. Sherwood in the Ontario Court of Justice in Owen Sound to wilfully committing an indecent act in the presence of one or more persons, contrary to s. 173(1) of the Criminal Code. He was found guilty. The Crown withdrew the remaining charges.
On or before October 17, 2024, the first count was amended again, to wilfully committing an indecent act in the presence of one or more persons under s. 173(1).
Wagter pleaded guilty to that charge on October 17, 2024, before Justice K. Sherwood in the Ontario Court of Justice in Owen Sound, and was found guilty. The Crown withdrew the remaining charges.
Sherwood granted him a conditional discharge and two years’ probation. A discharge means no conviction was registered. Under s. 730 of the Criminal Code, a court can grant one instead of convicting, and the finding of guilt stands without a conviction on the record.
He did not appeal, and the appeal period has lapsed.
The register also lists a condition running two years from sentencing: that Wagter not be in the company of any child under 12 unless an adult who knows about the order is present.
What the July hearing did, and didn’t, decide
The College’s hearing schedule lists a Discipline Committee hearing on July 15, 2026, the same date Wagter gave the undertakings. The College’s public account of that hearing consists solely of those undertakings. It records no finding of professional misconduct, no penalty and no revocation of his certificate. His status on the register remains “Cancelled – Resigned.”
The effect is permanent either way. He cannot hold an Ontario teaching certificate again, and cannot work in any position requiring College membership. But the outcome came from his own undertakings rather than an order against him, and the allegations set out in the February notice were never decided.
What the records don’t show
Wagter was certified in July 2011. His membership status changed to “Cancelled – Resigned” on March 19, 2024 — after he was charged, and about seven months before he pleaded guilty. The College issued its notice of hearing in February 2026, roughly 16 months after the plea.
Neither document identifies where Wagter taught, whether he was employed by a school board at the time of the April 2023 incident, or whether any board was notified of the charges.