Sexual Interference: Charges, Sentencing, and Registry Impact

Sexual interference in Canada is the criminal offence, set out in Section 151 of the Criminal Code, of touching any part of the body of a person under 16 for a sexual purpose. It is prosecuted either by indictment, carrying a maximum of 14 years in prison, or summarily, with a maximum of two years less a day. Consent of the young person is almost never a defence, and a conviction brings mandatory sex offender registration, court-ordered restrictions on where the person can go and who they can be around, and a criminal record that is extremely difficult to clear.¹

What the Offence Covers

Section 151 reaches any touching of a person under 16 done for a sexual purpose. The contact can be direct or indirect. Skin-to-skin is not required, touching through clothing qualifies, and the statute specifically includes touching with an object rather than a part of the body.¹

Nothing in the offence requires force, threats, or coercion. The Crown does not have to prove the accused achieved sexual gratification, and no physical harm to the child needs to be shown. The offence is complete once the touching occurs and a sexual purpose is established. That makes the charge broader than many people expect: a hand placed on a clothed thigh can be enough, if the surrounding evidence shows the motive was sexual.

How Courts Decide a Touch Was “Sexual”

Whether a particular act was for a sexual purpose is judged objectively. The governing authority is the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in R. v. Chase, which asks whether a reasonable observer, taking in all the circumstances, would view the act as sexual in nature.²

Factors courts weigh include:

The part of the body touched. Contact with genitals, breasts, or buttocks is more readily read as sexual than contact with an arm or shoulder, though context still matters.
The nature of the contact. Rubbing or lingering touching carries different weight than a brief, incidental touch.
The surrounding circumstances, including where it happened and anything said or gestured at the time.
The accused’s apparent intent. If the evidence points to sexual gratification, that weighs heavily, but it is one factor among several.

An accused’s own claim that the contact was innocent does not end the inquiry. If the facts, viewed objectively, point to a sexual purpose, the element is made out.²

Age and Consent

The charge applies only when the person touched was under 16 at the time, and the Crown must prove that age as an element of the offence.¹

Consent is generally not a defence. Section 150.1 of the Criminal Code states that when the complainant is under 16, their consent does not shield the accused.³ Even where the young person initiated the contact or took part willingly, the accused is still criminally liable. Canadian law treats children under 16 as incapable of giving legally meaningful consent to sexual touching.

Close-in-Age Exceptions

The absolute bar on consent has narrow exceptions for peers close in age, meant to separate teenage relationships from adult exploitation. The exceptions work on a sliding scale:

If the complainant is 12 or 13, consent can be a defence only when the accused is less than two years older and holds no position of trust or authority.
If the complainant is 14 or 15, consent can be a defence only when the accused is less than five years older and holds no position of trust or authority.³

Both exceptions disappear entirely if the accused was in a position of trust or authority, the complainant was in a relationship of dependency, or the relationship was exploitative. A 17-year-old in a consensual relationship with a 14-year-old falls within the exception. A 19-year-old and a 14-year-old do not, because the age gap exceeds five years. These lines are applied strictly.

An accused also cannot invoke the exceptions by claiming they thought the complainant was older, unless they took all reasonable steps to determine the actual age.³

Protection Does Not End at 16

Section 151 stops at age 16, but Section 153 of the Criminal Code creates a separate sexual exploitation offence covering 16- and 17-year-olds. It applies when the accused is in a position of trust or authority over the young person, the young person is in a relationship of dependency, or the relationship is exploitative.⁴

Teachers, coaches, employers, and family members are the typical examples. Courts can also infer an exploitative relationship from the age gap, the way the relationship developed, and how much control one person had over the other. The penalties mirror sexual interference: up to 14 years on indictment, up to two years less a day on summary conviction.⁴

Sentencing

Sexual interference is a hybrid offence. The Crown chooses whether to proceed by indictment or by summary conviction, and that choice drives the sentencing range:

By indictment: up to 14 years in prison, with a mandatory minimum of one year.
By summary conviction: up to two years less a day, with a mandatory minimum of 90 days.¹

Indictment is typical for more serious or prolonged conduct, breach-of-trust cases, or cases with very young complainants. Summary prosecution is generally reserved for less serious circumstances. Either route produces a criminal record for a sexual offence against a child.

The Mandatory Minimum Patchwork

The one-year mandatory minimum for indictable sexual interference has been struck down as unconstitutional by appellate courts in six provinces: Nova Scotia, Quebec, Manitoba, British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario. The 90-day minimum for summary conviction has been struck down in the Yukon and the Northwest Territories.⁵ Those courts found the minimums produced grossly disproportionate sentences in some cases, in breach of the Charter.

Only Parliament can formally repeal the provisions, so the minimums remain on the page. In the jurisdictions where they have been struck down, judges are not bound by them and can impose shorter sentences when the facts call for it. Elsewhere, the minimums technically still apply, though defence counsel regularly challenge them. In practice, the sentence can turn in part on where the case is prosecuted.

Sex Offender Registry, Prohibition Orders, and DNA

A conviction triggers obligations under the Sex Offender Information Registration Act (SOIRA). Under Section 490.012, the sentencing court must make a SOIRA order when the offence was prosecuted by indictment, the sentence is two years or more, and the victim was under 18. The order is also mandatory where the person has a prior conviction for a similar offence. Even outside those automatic triggers, the court must still issue the order unless the offender shows registration would serve no purpose or that its impact would be grossly disproportionate to the public interest.⁶

The length of the registration order is tied to the maximum sentence for the offence, not the sentence actually imposed:

10 years if the offence was prosecuted summarily or carries a maximum of two or five years.
20 years if the maximum is 10 or 14 years. Because indictable sexual interference carries a 14-year maximum, most indictable convictions result in a 20-year registration.
Life if the person has a prior conviction for a primary sexual offence, was already subject to a SOIRA order, or was convicted of multiple designated offences in the same proceeding that the court finds show a pattern of sexual offending.

Registered offenders have to report in person to a designated registration centre and keep their address and employment information current, updating any changes within seven days. Where the offence was against a child, they must give at least 14 days’ notice before travelling outside Canada.⁷ Failing to comply is itself a criminal offence.

Section 161 lets the sentencing judge impose a prohibition order with conditions that can last years. These include staying away from parks, swimming areas, daycares, schoolgrounds, playgrounds, and community centres where children under 16 are present; staying a set distance from the victim’s home; a ban on work or volunteering in any position of trust or authority over children under 16; a ban on contact with any person under 16 except under court-approved supervision; and restrictions on internet use.⁸

A DNA order is mandatory. Sexual interference is a primary designated offence under Section 487.051, so the court orders a sample taken for the national DNA data bank, where it can be used in future investigations.⁹

Life After the Sentence

A sexual interference conviction follows a person well past the end of their sentence. A criminal record for a sexual offence against a child closes doors in any field involving children or vulnerable people. Enhanced record checks, standard for work in education, healthcare, and childcare, disclose the conviction. International travel is harder, since many countries refuse entry to people with sexual offence convictions.

Clearing the record is rarely an option. Under the Criminal Records Act, sexual interference is a Schedule 1 offence, which generally bars record suspensions (formerly called pardons). A narrow exception exists: the applicant has to show they were not in a position of trust or authority over the victim, did not use or threaten violence or intimidation, and were less than five years older than the victim. Even then, there is a wait of 5 or 10 years after the entire sentence is complete, including probation and any fines, and the Parole Board can still refuse.¹⁰ For most people convicted of sexual interference, the record is permanent.

1
Department of Justice Canada. Criminal Code – Sexual Interference
2
CanLII. R v Chase, 1987 CanLII 23 (SCC), [1987] 2 SCR 293
3
Department of Justice Canada. Criminal Code – Section 150.1
4
Department of Justice Canada. Criminal Code – Section 153
5
Department of Justice Canada. Mandatory Minimum Penalties of Imprisonment and Bill C-16
6
Department of Justice Canada. Criminal Code – Section 490.012
7
Department of Justice Canada. Sex Offender Information Registration Act
8
Department of Justice Canada. Criminal Code – Section 161
9
Department of Justice Canada. Criminal Code – Section 487.051
10
Department of Justice Canada. Criminal Records Act