SELECTED CASE LAW
ONTARIO:
In 2014 ONCJ 543, Mr. A, a 25-year-old man, pleaded guilty to child luring. He posed as a 19-year-old teen in a chatroom dedicated for teens. He began speaking with a girl from the United States, who he claimed he thought was 16 years old, but was in fact only 13 years old. He had taken no steps to ascertain her age. During their conversations he persuaded her into masturbating while on webcam and took screen shots of her in the nude. He was sentenced to four months of incarceration, three years of probation, which included orders that prohibited him from accessing or possessing pornography or naked or sexualized images of children, as well as limitations on possessing or using digital devices and accessing social networking sites. It was ordered that he be registered as sexual offender for life, provide a DNA sample and forfeit the devices used in the offence.
The sentencing judge stated: “Children deserve to live their lives on and offline as children, free from sexual exploitation by anyone. Clearly the message has to be stated loud and clear to this defendant and to other like-minded individuals that society finds such behaviour directed as here against children abhorrent, and that a sentence of jail is unavoidable when caught.”[1]
[1] 2014 ONCJ 543 at para 8.
Criminal Offence(s): Making Sexual Material Available to a Child