Supreme Court restores mandatory minimum sentence for obtaining sexual services from minor
Highest court overturns Quebec appeal court decision in 7–2 ruling, keeps six-month minimum sentence for the offense.
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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, overturning a May 2024 decision by the Quebec Court of Appeal that had ruled the mandatory minimum unconstitutional.
The country's highest court ruled in a 7–2 decision that the six-month minimum sentence does not constitute cruel and unusual punishment under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
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, had responded to fake advertisements for escort services posted by police officers and was told the escort in question was 16 years old. Denis appealed the verdict and challenged the constitutionality of the minimum sentence. The Quebec Court of Appeal agreed that the minimum sentence was unconstitutional but upheld the sentence in Denis's case anyway.
