Supreme Court restores minimum sentence for obtaining sexual services from a minor

The Supreme Court of Canada has reinstated the mandatory minimum sentence for offenders who obtain or solicit sexual services from a minor in exchange for money.

In doing so, the country’s highest court overturns a May 2024 decision by the Quebec Court of Appeal in which it ruled that the mandatory minimum sentence for this offence was unconstitutional.

The case dates back to 2018, when defendant Mario Denis was found guilty of soliciting sexual services and sentenced to the minimum term of six months.

Denis, now 61, responded to fake advertisements for escort services posted by police officers and was told the escort in question was 16 years old.

The defendant appealed the verdict and challenged the constitutionality of the minimum sentence. The Court of Appeal agreed that the minimum sentence was unconstitutional, but upheld the sentence in Denis’s case.

The Supreme Court ruled today a 7-2 split decision that the six-month minimum sentence did not constitute cruel and unusual punishment under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

By Pierre St-Arnaud