NEWMARKET (CANADA)
Newmarket Era - York Region.com [Newmarket, Ontario, Canada]
May 8, 2026
By Jeremy Grimaldi
Tony Paniccia, 49, of North York, was the head of the special education department, prior to his arrest in September 2024
A longtime high school teacher, who worked for five years with the York Catholic District School Board, has been sentenced to three years in prison for the sexual exploitation of a student.
Tony Paniccia, 49, of North York, was the head of a special education department prior to his arrest in September 2024 and eventual guilty plea in Newmarket court.
He met the student via the school’s vice-principal after she’d been struggling with anxiety, resulting in her skipping classes. Paniccia is 31 years older than the student.
Although the relationship began professionally, the pair would eventually begin communicating on Telegram, a chat app that has an option where communication is automatically deleted at the end of the conversation.
They met three times in his vehicle late at night in January and February 2024 in Richmond Hill, where they held hands and hugged, before he eventually kissed her. She did not kiss back, according to court documents.
“Paniccia told the complainant that he wanted to take her on a date,” the sentencing reads. “He was unhappy that they had to meet in the car, but he couldn’t take her out publicly because he didn’t want others to see them.”
Following the kiss, the girl messaged him that she didn’t want to meet him anymore “because she felt disgusted” and because he was a teacher.
“Paniccia told her that she broke his heart, which made her feel badly,” it further reads. “He also made suicidal statements to make her feel guilty.”
They arranged to meet again a day after Valentine’s Day 2024 in a secluded area, where she told him she didn’t want to do anything further.
He disregarded her wishes and touched her breast, digitally penetrated her and performed oral sex.
“While this was going on, Paniccia told the complainant to keep watch so that nobody sees them,” it reads. “The complainant was upset. She did not want to engage in any sexual activity with (him). Paniccia told her not to tell anyone because it would ruin his life. She felt he wasn’t listening to her and continued to make everything about himself. He suggested they ‘start over,’ but she refused.”
A few weeks after the girl told him the vice-principal would find out, Paniccia, a married father of three girls, left the school in March 2024.
Court documents show he has several university degrees and a history of mental health issues, namely major depressive disorder, anxiety, panic disorder, social anxiety and psychosis.
After the charges were brought, he was admitted to CAMH.
“The text messages show repeated grooming and manipulation of the victim breaking down professional barriers, moving her towards intimacy and then towards sexual conduct despite her repeated protests,” wrote Joseph Kekel in his reasons.
“He created secret messages, arranged meetings when the victim’s parents would be asleep and planned pickups, drop offs and meeting locations that would help him conceal what he was doing. Even when the victim refused to continue, he tried repeatedly to persuade her to change her mind. He tried to prolong the offences, which had escalated at each step.”
Paniccia will be on the sexual offenders registry for 20 years and there was a noncommunication order instituted, prohibiting communication with the victim or members of her family.
As of publication, his status with the Ontario College of Teachers remains in good standing, although he is expected to lose his licence.
Jeremy Grimaldi is Metroland’s courts, crime and justice reporter.