In Canada, under section 163.1 of the Criminal Code, it is a criminal offence to access, have, distribute, or make child porn.

Child porn consists of representations of children under 18 engaged in sexual acts in videos, photographs, written material, audio recordings, and illustrations. The Criminal Code outlines that it can also be material that advocates or elicits sexual activity with a child under 18 years.

According to the Criminal Code, any kind of visual representation of a person under the age of 18 taking part in sex is child pornography or any depiction of a child under the age of 18 years old where the leading feature is the representation of the genital area or bust for a sexual objective.

According to the law, simple nudity does not immediately count as child pornography. However, written or audio content where the leading theme encourages or represents sexual activity with a person under 18 could be considered criminal under this section.

What are the types of child pornography offences?

As detailed in the Criminal Code, there are four possible charges connected to child porn:

Accessing child porn

Accessing child pornography indicates that you are purposefully creating child porn to be seen or sent to on your own. According to section 163.1(4.1) of the Code, accessing child porn involves knowingly creating child porn to be checked out or transmitted to yourself. This offence was particularly produced to catch those not in possession of child pornography; however, they still seek to find it for themselves on the web.

Possession of child pornography

This offence requires that you have the child porn materials in your ownership and control. You don’t have to see child pornography; it suffices that you have the products in your possession and know of them.

To be found guilty of having child pornography, the Crown must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you had understanding and control of the content that consists of child pornography. According to section 163.1(4), You can be condemned to possessing porn if you have it in your individual belongings or purposefully put it in the belongings of another person or location for the use or advantage of yourself or an additional individual or group of people.

Distribution

It is a criminal offence to send, offer, distribute, offer, advertise, import, export, or possess for transmission, offering, circulation, sale, advertising, and marketing or exporting any child porn.

This consists of assisting someone else to gain access to child pornography, whether it be via sending them a link online or by offering them child porn content directly. Every person who transfers, makes available, disperses, offers, markets, imports, exports, or possesses child porn for the objective of doing any one of these things can be convicted of distributing child pornography.

Making

It is a criminal offence to make, copy, distribute or have for the function of manufacturing any child porn. This includes taking photos, making videos, or visual representations. More information can be found about this in section 163.1(2)

Penalties if found guilty

As a result of its delicate nature, child pornography offences carry required minimal prison terms. For possession and accessing child porn, the Crown chooses whether to proceed by indictment or summary conviction.

If proceeding by summary conviction, you will certainly encounter a minimum sentence of 6 months and a maximum sentence of 2 years.

If continuing by way of indictment, you will face a minimum sentence of one year and an optimal sentence of 10 years.

For making and distributing child pornography, the Crown needs to proceed by indictment. You will undoubtedly encounter a minimum sentence of one year and a maximum of 14 years behind bars.

Some aspects that will likely raise the prison sentence:

  • Having a large amount of child pornography.
  • The children shown in the material are extremely young.
  • There is a history of child pornography.
  • There was a high level of participation in the manufacturing of child pornography.
  • The child was abused.
  • There was an intended benefit from the content.

Along with these jail terms, there are also specific orders that accompany a child porn charge, such as an order to surrender any kind of home related to the offence and an order to limit your ability to visit areas where you have a high probability of engaging with underage people.

If you have been convicted of anything child porn-related, you will likewise obtain an order to register with The National Sex Offender Registry. As a sex offender, you will need to give the police your individual information, including where you live, what you drive, and what you do for work.

You will certainly also be obliged to inform the authorities any time you move, change employment, volunteer placements, or travel globally for greater than seven days.

There might also be issues with the Children’s Aid Society if you have children. A child pornography defence lawyer is the most effective way to protect yourself from the possible consequences and functional limitations that come with being convicted of a child pornography case.

How do I fight the child porn charges?

There are numerous defences readily available to an individual billed under section 163 of the Criminal Code.

According to section 163.1(6a) and section 163.1(6b), there are some very minimal exceptions where a person is legitimately allowed to possess child photos that would or else be prohibited in a limited number of situations.

Legitimate purpose exemption: a person is not responsible for this offence when they have a reputable function about the administration of justice, scientific research, medicine, education, and learning or art and also does not trigger damage to the person under 18 years of age.

Hiring a child pornography lawyer gives you the best chance at having a good defence for your case. If you are looking for a Toronto child pornography lawyer, contact our team of knowledgeable child porn lawyers for more information on how to protect your rights.

By |2022-09-19T17:08:37+00:00March 8th, 2022|Child Pornography Charges|
Criminal Lawyers Association
Toronnto Lawyers Association
Law Society of Ontario
Criminal Lawyers Association
Toronnto Lawyers Association
Law Society of Ontario

TESTIMONIALS

Thanks Igor for all your help throughout my criminal process. I have never been charged before and I think Igor really helped ease my nerves through the entire process. When I was initially charged I called a couple of other firms but I ended up retaining Igor because when we spoke on the phone he spent a lot of time to explain what I was charged with and what it all means, I felt the most comfortable when talking to him. As my case progressed, he really took the time to explain my options and the probability of each one, so I really appreciated that and I felt less confused with all the various legal proceedings.
My son was charged with DUI and I hired Igor to represent his matter. Overall, my experience with Igor was great and my son felt really comfortable working with Igor as well. As a parent, I was really concerned about the entire process and even though my son is considered an adult, I was extremely involved the entire time. I really liked that Igor respected my concerns as a worried parent and always ensured any meetings or conversations were held with me present as much as possible, if I wasn’t available to attend a meeting and only him and my son were able to meet, Igor would reach out to update me. I would most definitely recommend Igor to others.
He is caring, honest, and highly knowledgeable in his field. I was charged with domestic assault a few months ago, I was initially with another lawyer but got fed up with the unresponsiveness (didn’t answer my calls or emails), I decided to look for someone else. Igor came highly recommended from a friend and I’m glad I went with him. He knows his stuff and fought hard for my case. Compared to other lawyers I’ve dealt with, day and night.
I cannot recommend Igor Vilkhov enough. I was charged with possession and trafficking, I was going through a tough time in my life at the time and I am glad I was able to find a lawyer who is genuinely passionate about what he does. I was kept consistently updated throughout the entire process and I couldn’t believe the positive outcome. While reviewing my case, he located a significant error on the part of the police. I can honestly say that his work is meticulous and his ability to negotiate is something else. If you are looking for a quality criminal defence lawyer, I can’t say enough good things about Igor.

TESTIMONIALS

Thanks Igor for all your help throughout my criminal process. I have never been charged before and I think Igor really helped ease my nerves through the entire process. When I was initially charged I called a couple of other firms but I ended up retaining Igor because when we spoke on the phone he spent a lot of time to explain what I was charged with and what it all means, I felt the most comfortable when talking to him. As my case progressed, he really took the time to explain my options and the probability of each one, so I really appreciated that and I felt less confused with all the various legal proceedings.
My son was charged with DUI and I hired Igor to represent his matter. Overall, my experience with Igor was great and my son felt really comfortable working with Igor as well. As a parent, I was really concerned about the entire process and even though my son is considered an adult, I was extremely involved the entire time. I really liked that Igor respected my concerns as a worried parent and always ensured any meetings or conversations were held with me present as much as possible, if I wasn’t available to attend a meeting and only him and my son were able to meet, Igor would reach out to update me. I would most definitely recommend Igor to others.
He is caring, honest, and highly knowledgeable in his field. I was charged with domestic assault a few months ago, I was initially with another lawyer but got fed up with the unresponsiveness (didn’t answer my calls or emails), I decided to look for someone else. Igor came highly recommended from a friend and I’m glad I went with him. He knows his stuff and fought hard for my case. Compared to other lawyers I’ve dealt with, day and night.
I cannot recommend Igor Vilkhov enough. I was charged with possession and trafficking, I was going through a tough time in my life at the time and I am glad I was able to find a lawyer who is genuinely passionate about what he does. I was kept consistently updated throughout the entire process and I couldn’t believe the positive outcome. While reviewing my case, he located a significant error on the part of the police. I can honestly say that his work is meticulous and his ability to negotiate is something else. If you are looking for a quality criminal defence lawyer, I can’t say enough good things about Igor.

LATEST NEWS & EVENTS