Mandatory minimum sentence for child sexual abuse material distribution is unconstitutional, Quebec court rules
A Court of Appeal panel reduced one man's sentence to six months in the community, finding a one-year mandatory minimum violates the Charter.
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Quebec's Court of Appeal has determined that the mandatory one-year prison sentence for distributing child sexual abuse material violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
In a Monday decision, a panel ruled on the case of a man who pleaded guilty in 2018 to possessing, accessing and distributing the material. The court found that a 12-month sentence would constitute cruel and unusual punishment given the defendant's intellectual disability and mental health conditions. It reduced his sentence to six months served in the community, plus probation and a lengthy list of conditions, credited for time already spent in custody.
The panel cited the Supreme Court of Canada's 2025 decision striking down mandatory one-year minimums for accessing or possessing child sexual abuse material. That court concluded such mandatory minimums can be unconstitutionally vulnerable because they force judges to impose disproportionate sentences on certain offenders.
