Sexual offences under the Criminal Code

Everyone who knowingly advertises an offer to provide sexual services for consideration.

Immunity applies to the person who was party to an offence under sections 286.1 to 286.4, if the offence relates to the offering or provision of their own sexual services (s. 286.5[2]).

Every person commits an offence who, by a means of telecommunication, agrees with a person, or makes an arrangement with a person to commit an offence with respect to another person who is, or who the accused believes is, under the age of 18 years.

Every person who commits bestiality, who compels another to commit bestiality, or who commits bestiality in the presence of a person under the age of 16 years.

Child pornography means a photographic, film, video or other visual representation, whether or not it was made by electronic or mechanical means, that shows a person who is or is depicted as being under the age of 18 years and is engaged in or is depicted as engaged in explicit sexual activity, or the dominant characteristic of which is the depiction, for a sexual purpose, of a sexual organ or the anal region of a person under the age of 18 years.

It also means any written material, visual representation or audio recording that advocates or counsels sexual activity with a person under the age of 18 years, or any written material or visual recording that has as its dominant characteristic the description, presentation or representation, for a sexual purpose, of sexual activity with a person under the age of 18 years that would be an offence under the Criminal Code.

Every person who, in the home of a child, participates in adultery or sexual immorality or indulges in habitual drunkenness or any other form of vice, and by doing so endangers the morals of the child or renders the home an unfit place for the child to be in.

Every person who, in any place, for a sexual purpose, exposes his or her genital organs to a person who is under the age of 16 years.

Every owner, occupier or manager of premises, or any other person who has control of premises or assists in the management or control of premises, who knowingly permits a person under the age of 18 years to resort to or to be in or on the premises for the purpose of engaging in any sexual activity prohibited by this Act.

Every one commits incest who, knowing that another person is by blood relationship his or her parent, child, brother, sister, grandparent or grandchild, as the case may be, has sexual intercourse with that person.

Everyone who wilfully does an indecent act in a public place in the presence of one or more persons, or in any place with intent to insult or offend any person.

Every person who, for a sexual purpose, invites, counsels or incites a person under the age of 16 years to touch, directly or indirectly, with a part of the body or with an object, the body of any person.

Every person commits an offence who, by a means of telecommunication, communicates with a person who is, or who the accused believes is, under the age of 18 years, for the purpose of facilitating the commission of a sexual offence.

Every person commits an offence who transmits, makes available, distributes or sells sexually explicit material to a person who is, or who the accused believes is, under the age of 18 years, for the purpose of facilitating the commission of a sexual offence.

Every person* who receives a financial or other material benefit knowing that it is obtained by or derived directly or indirectly from the commission of the offence of obtaining sexual services for consideration.

*Some exceptions apply.

Every person commits an offence who makes, prints, publishes, distributes, circulates or has in their possession for the purpose of publication, distribution or circulation any obscene written matter, picture, model, phonograph record or any other obscene thing.

Everyone who, in any place, obtains for consideration, or communicates with anyone for the purpose of obtaining for consideration, the sexual services of a person, or of a person under the age of 18.

Every parent or guardian of a person under the age of 18 years who procures the person for the purpose of engaging in any sexual activity prohibited by the Criminal Code with a person other than the parent or guardian.

Everyone who procures a person or a person under 18 years to offer or provide sexual services for consideration or recruits, holds, conceals or harbours a person who offers or provides sexual services for consideration, or exercises control, direction or influence over the movements of that person.

Everyone who knowingly publishes, distributes, transmits, sells, makes available or advertises an intimate image of a person knowing that the person depicted in the image did not give their consent to that conduct, or being reckless as to whether or not that person gave their consent to that conduct.

No person shall do anything for the purpose of removing from Canada a person who is ordinarily resident in Canada and who is under the age of 18 years, with the intention that an act be committed outside Canada that if it were committed in Canada would be a sexual offence.

Sexual assault (s. 271)

Contact of a sexual nature in the absence of consent.

Sexual assault with a weapon, threats to a third party or causing bodily harm (s. 272)

Every person commits an offence who, in committing a sexual assault:

1. carries, uses or threatens to use a weapon or an imitation of a weapon;
2. threatens to cause bodily harm to a person other than the complainant;
3. causes bodily harm to the complainant;
   1. chokes, suffocates or strangles the complainant; or
4. is a party to the offence with any other person.

Aggravated sexual assault (s. 273)

Every one commits an aggravated sexual assault who, in committing a sexual assault, wounds, maims, disfigures or endangers the life of the complainant.

Every person commits a sexual interference or invitation to sexual touching offense 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. Section 153.1 also provides for a sexual exploitation offence when sexual interference or an invitation-to-sexual-touching offence is committed against a person with a mental or physical disability.

Every person who, for a sexual purpose, touches, directly or indirectly, with a part of the body or with an object, any part of the body of a person under the age of 16 years.

Every person who recruits, transports, transfers, receives, holds, conceals or harbours a person, or exercises control, direction or influence over the movements of a person or of a person under the age of 18 years, for the purpose of exploiting them or facilitating their exploitation.

Every one commits an offence who, surreptitiously, observes — including by mechanical or electronic means — or makes a visual recording of a person who is in circumstances that give rise to a reasonable expectation of privacy, if: a) the person is in a place in which a person can reasonably be expected to be nude, to expose his or her genital organs or anal region or her breasts, or to be engaged in explicit sexual activity; b) the person is nude, is exposing his or her genital organs or anal region or her breasts, or is engaged in explicit sexual activity, and the observation or recording is done for the purpose of observing or recording a person in such a state or engaged in such an activity; or c) the observation or recording is done for a sexual purpose. Also, every one commits an offence who, knowing that a recording was obtained by the commission of an offence, prints, copies, publishes, distributes, circulates, sells, advertises or makes available the recording, or has the recording in his or her possession for the purpose of printing, copying, publishing, distributing, circulating, selling or advertising it or making it available.