Criminal Code

Marginal note:Sexual exploitation

• 153 (1) Every person commits an offence who is in a position of trust or authority towards a young person, who is a person with whom the young person is in a relationship of dependency or who is in a relationship with a young person that is exploitative of the young person, and who

  • (a) for a sexual purpose, touches, directly or indirectly, with a part of the body or with an object, any part of the body of the young person; or

  • (b) for a sexual purpose, invites, counsels or incites a young person to touch, directly or indirectly, with a part of the body or with an object, the body of any person, including the body of the person who so invites, counsels or incites and the body of the young person.

• Marginal note:Punishment

  (1.1) Every person who commits an offence under subsection (1)

  • (a) is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years and to a minimum punishment of imprisonment for a term of forty-five days; or

  • (b) is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding eighteen months and to a minimum punishment of imprisonment for a term of fourteen days.

• Marginal note:Inference of sexual exploitation

  (1.2) A judge may infer that a person is in a relationship with a young person that is exploitative of the young person from the nature and circumstances of the relationship, including

  • (a) the age of the young person;

  • (b) the age difference between the person and the young person;

  • (c) the evolution of the relationship; and

  • (d) the degree of control or influence by the person over the young person.

• Definition of young person

  (2) In this section, young person means a person 16 years of age or more but under the age of eighteen years.