Warning: This article contains subject matters that may be disturbing to some readers.
A Toronto veterinarian has been suspended from practice for 14 months by the Discipline Committee of the College of Veterinarians of Ontario after he was found guilty of possessing child pornography and failed to report his criminal charges and conviction to the regulatory body1. The veterinarian, Dr. Joseph Wolfer, who practiced at the Toronto Animal Eye Clinic, must also undergo a forensic psychiatric assessment and pay $5,000 in costs to the College. The decision was released on May 21, 2025, following a videoconference hearing held on May 1, 2025. Dr. Wolfer admitted to the allegations of professional misconduct, which the panel accepted as voluntary, informed, and unequivocal.
The panel, chaired by Dr. Kerry Lissemore, found Dr. Wolfer had engaged in professional misconduct on multiple grounds. These included committing an act relevant to the practice of veterinary medicine that would be regarded by other members as disgraceful, dishonourable, or unprofessional; engaging in conduct unbecoming a veterinarian; and contravening a law that is relevant to his suitability to practice. The findings were based on an Agreed Statement of Facts submitted by both Dr. Wolfer’s legal counsel and counsel for the College, which detailed the timeline of the criminal investigation and his subsequent failures to communicate with his regulatory body.
The events leading to the disciplinary action began on November 5, 2020, when Toronto Police Services executed search warrants at both the Toronto Animal Eye Clinic and Dr. Wolfer’s residence. According to the agreed facts, the search of the clinic yielded nothing relevant to the police investigation. However, from Dr. Wolfer’s residence, officers seized images and videos that were consistent with the Criminal Code of Canada’s definition of child pornography. The investigation had also identified that images consistent with child pornography had been uploaded to a cloud storage service account by Dr. Wolfer on or about July 22, 2020.
Following the execution of the search warrants and subsequent police investigation, Dr. Wolfer was arrested on January 14, 2021. He was formally charged with three separate offenses under the Criminal Code: two counts of Possession of Child Pornography and one count of Accessing Child Pornography. These serious criminal charges triggered specific professional obligations under the College’s by-laws, which mandate that members must self-report such matters to the regulator.
Dr. Wolfer failed to meet these obligations. He did not notify the College of Veterinarians of Ontario of the three criminal charges within thirty days of them being laid, as required. This failure to report was not an isolated incident. The misconduct was compounded when Dr. Wolfer completed his annual renewal reports for both 2022 and 2023. On both occasions, he was required to provide details of any outstanding criminal proceedings. He failed to ensure this information was provided on either renewal, effectively concealing the ongoing legal matter from the College for more than two years. Furthermore, he failed to keep the College apprised of developments in his criminal case, such as the setting of trial dates, which he was required to do.
The criminal proceedings against Dr. Wolfer concluded on February 6, 2023. He was found guilty of one count of Possession of Child Pornography. He was acquitted of the other possession charge and the charge of accessing child pornography. Following this conviction, Dr. Wolfer once again breached his professional duties by failing to notify the College that he had been convicted of a criminal offense. On September 29, 2023, Dr. Wolfer was sentenced to 14 months of incarceration, to be followed by one year of probation. The court also made other ancillary orders related to the conviction. The discipline decision noted that Dr. Wolfer is currently appealing his criminal conviction. However, for the strict purposes of the discipline proceeding, he acknowledged that the evidence available to the College would establish, on a balance of probabilities, that he had contravened a law relevant to his suitability to practice.
In its reasons for finding Dr. Wolfer guilty of professional misconduct, the discipline panel, which also included professional member Dr. Lena Levison and public member Mr. Douglas Reynolds, expressed deep concern. The panel stated that the criminal conduct was “troubling and of such a serious nature” that it clearly met the definition of contravening a law relevant to his suitability to practice. The panel wrote, “Having been found guilty of an offence that concerns a vulnerable population (children), we find that the offence is relevant to the Member’s suitability to practice.” The panel also ruled that both the finding of guilt and Dr. Wolfer’s “failure to keep the College apprised of the charges and eventual conviction is conduct unbecoming and would reasonably be regarded by other members of this profession as disgraceful, dishonourable and unprofessional.”
The College and Dr. Wolfer’s counsel presented a joint submission on penalty, which the panel accepted, finding it was not contrary to the public interest and met the goals of public protection and rehabilitation. The 14-month suspension of Dr. Wolfer’s license to practice was a central component of the penalty. However, his return to practice is contingent on fulfilling several other conditions. The panel ordered that Dr. Wolfer must complete a remediation program to the satisfaction of the College Registrar before he can be reinstated.
This remediation program requires Dr. Wolfer to participate in a forensic psychiatric assessment with an assessor who must be pre-approved by the Registrar. He must then provide a full copy of the assessor’s report to the Registrar. Following that assessment, Dr. Wolfer is ordered to “undergo counselling, treatment or other course of action recommended by the Psychiatric Assessor.” The ultimate goal of this requirement is for Dr. Wolfer to “demonstrate to the Registrar that he is at low risk of repeating the conduct at issue in these proceedings.” He is also required to continue cooperating with any recommendations from his treating physicians, therapists, or other healthcare professionals regarding his health conditions.
The final component of the penalty was a formal, public reprimand, which was delivered orally to Dr. Wolfer at the conclusion of the hearing. A transcript of the reprimand was attached to the decision. The panel chair stated, “The fact that you engaged in dishonourable professional misconduct is a matter of profound concern to the Panel. You have brought discredit to yourself and to the veterinary profession. Public confidence in this profession has been put in jeopardy. The result of your misconduct is that you have let down the public, the veterinary profession, and yourself.” The panel specifically highlighted the failure to report, stating, “Of special concern to us is the fact that once you found yourself facing criminal charges, you failed to advise the College of them. Similarly, upon being convicted, you failed to keep the College apprised of any of the details… You are required to advise the College of this information and failing to do so, put the College and the public it protects at risk.” The reprimand concluded with a warning that “a more significant penalty will likely be imposed by another Discipline panel in the event that you are ever found to have engaged in professional misconduct again.”
