Criminal Harassment Lawyer Toronto

If you are facing a criminal harassment charge in Toronto or anywhere in Ontario, you need an experienced criminal harassment lawyer on your side as early as possible. Our Toronto harassment lawyers defend people across the GTA who are investigated, arrested or charged with stalking, repeated communication, online harassment and other intimidating behaviour.

Criminal harassment charges are treated seriously by police, Crown prosecutors and judges in Ontario. A single misunderstanding or emotional dispute can escalate into a formal charge that follows you for years unless an experienced lawyer steps in to protect your record and reputation.

What Is Criminal Harassment?

Criminal harassment, under section 264(1) of the Criminal Code of Canada, is knowingly and without lawful authority engaging in conduct that causes another person to reasonably fear for their own safety or the safety of someone known to them. The conduct must be repeated and unwanted by the complainant.

To secure a conviction, the Crown must prove:

• that you repeatedly followed or communicated with the complainant, watched their home or workplace, or engaged in threatening conduct;
• that the complainant felt harassed and feared for their safety, and that this fear was reasonable in the circumstances; and
• that you knew your conduct would cause the complainant to feel harassed, or were reckless as to that possibility.

Common examples include stalking or repeatedly following someone, attempting unwanted communication, watching a complainant's home or workplace, and threatening conduct against a complainant's family member.

What Does Criminal Harassment Mean in Practice?

Criminal harassment does not require that you actually caused injury, or that you made a direct threat. It requires that your conduct tormented, troubled or badgered the complainant, going beyond mere annoyance but falling short of an outright threat. Importantly, the conduct must be repeated and ongoing rather than a single incident.

Criminal Harassment Charges in Ontario

With criminal harassment cases on the rise across Canada, police, Crown prosecutors and the courts treat the offence seriously. The Criminal Code sets a higher maximum penalty for criminal harassment than for a simple assault, and the offence does not require any threats or violence to be made out; it can occur even without spoken words.

When criminal harassment is directed at an intimate partner or family member, it is treated as a domestic matter. Under section 718.2 of the Criminal Code, the court must treat evidence of domestic abuse as an aggravating factor on sentencing, which can lead to a higher penalty.

Common Criminal Harassment Scenarios in Toronto and Ontario

• Breakdowns in intimate relationships: repeated calls, texts, social media messages or uninvited visits after a breakup.
• Family disputes: ongoing contact with a former partner or family member during parenting or property disagreements.
• Neighbour conflicts: watching, recording or following a neighbour in a way that causes them to fear for their safety.
• Workplace disputes that turn criminal: conduct that begins as a workplace disagreement and escalates into repeated contact or threats.
• Online and social media harassment: anonymous or persistent messages, posts or comments that leave the complainant feeling targeted.
• Random encounters or misunderstandings: contact with someone you barely know that is interpreted as stalking or intimidating.

In each of these situations, the question is whether the Crown can prove a pattern of behaviour that would cause a reasonable person to fear for their safety. An experienced lawyer can often show that the conduct was taken out of context, exaggerated, or does not meet the strict legal test for harassment.

Sentence for Criminal Harassment in Ontario

Criminal harassment is a hybrid offence, so the Crown can proceed either summarily or by indictment:

On sentencing, courts consider aggravating factors including:

• breaching a prohibition order or peace bond that was in effect at the time of the offence;
• contravening any other order, recognizance or undertaking at the time of the offence;
• evidence that the offender abused an intimate partner or family member; and
• any other aggravating circumstances related to the offence or the offender.

Defence Strategy for Harassment Charges in Toronto and the GTA

While every case turns on its own facts, common defence strategies for criminal harassment charges in Ontario include:

• a factual innocence defence based on reasonable doubt in the Crown's case;
• an unreasonable fear defence, showing the alleged conduct could not reasonably have induced fear;
• an absence of intent or wilful blindness as to whether the conduct would cause the complainant to feel harassed; and
• lawful authority to contact the complainant, for example to enforce a child access or visitation order.

An experienced criminal harassment lawyer can adapt these defences to the specific facts of your case and test each element of the Crown's evidence.

Arrest and Bail

If you are arrested for criminal harassment, police may release you or hold you for a bail hearing, which must take place within 24 hours of arrest or as soon as possible thereafter.

After arrest, you have a constitutional right to remain silent and to retain counsel. It is in your best interests to exercise both rights and avoid making any statement until you have spoken with a lawyer. During the bail hearing, experienced bail counsel will negotiate with the Crown and propose a bail plan, often involving one or more sureties who pledge an amount of money as a condition of your release.

Bail conditions in criminal harassment cases can be more restrictive where the allegations involve an intimate partner or family member. Your lawyer will address the Crown's concerns and advocate for the least restrictive conditions available.