A review of 39 cases involving lawyers who committed child sexual abuse has found that most of them retain their licences to practise law. The legal disciplinary system is slow to respond to cases of child luring, sex with minors, and possession of child sexual abuse material, according to the Investigative Journalism Bureau (IJB).
Case Study: Gavin McNeill Grant
Ontario lawyer Gavin McNeill Grant impregnated a 17-year-old Crown ward, showed coworkers pictures of her in lingerie, and assaulted two women, including a client-turned-girlfriend, according to a decision by Ontario's Law Society Tribunal. Grant, who worked as a criminal lawyer in Owen Sound, Ontario, engaged in a pattern of sexual, drug, and physical misconduct involving at least six females, including underage girls.
Complaints about Grant's sexual misconduct began as early as 2014, but it took until June 2017 for a complaint to be made to the Law Society of Ontario (LSO). The regulator's independent disciplinary tribunal suspended Grant's licence in the fall of 2018. It was not until January 2022 that the LSO finally revoked his licence.
"His conduct exploited the power imbalance created by his status as a lawyer and was predatory in nature," the LSO's disciplinary tribunal concluded. "It is conduct of the worst sort." It took another 20 months for the Law Society of Alberta, where Grant was also licensed, to revoke his licence there.
However, these revocations had little impact on Grant, who was not criminally charged in Canada. He had already moved to Thailand, where he now advertises his teaching services online, stating he was a lawyer before becoming a teacher.
Systemic Failures
Grant's case is among 35 reviewed by the IJB in which Canadian lawyers or judges were criminally convicted or professionally disciplined since 2000 for child sexual offences or misconduct. Just 14 of these 35 cases resulted in licence revocation. The majority of disciplinary outcomes allowed lawyers to complete a suspension before resuming practice, pay a fine, or retire in lieu of licence revocation.
In addition to these 35 cases, four other lawyers during that time were licensed to practise law after criminal convictions for child sexual offences. Together, the 39 cases reveal a system that is slow to respond when legal professionals commit offences or engage in misconduct, including child luring, sex with minors, and possessing child sexual abuse material. When it does act, the resulting penalties often fall short of what some lawyers call meaningful accountability.
The IJB attempted to reach Grant for comment but was unable to locate him. In 2018 disciplinary documents, Grant denied much of the evidence against him, including that he was in an exploitive relationship with a 17-year-old or that he knew she was underage.
