OTTAWA – The Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to examine the constitutionality of a mandatory minimum sentence for purchasing sexual services from someone under age 18.
The decision comes in a case involving police publishing fictitious online escort service ads.
An undercover police officer told a man at least four times that a female escort was a minor.
The man was arrested after turning up to meet the supposed escort.
He was convicted and sentenced to six months behind bars — the mandatory minimum sentence under the Criminal Code provision.
The Quebec Court of Appeal dismissed the man’s appeal of his conviction and affirmed the sentence, but declared the mandatory minimum to be unconstitutional and of no force or effect.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 24, 2025.
