Child pornography may be prosecuted in one of two ways: by summary conviction or by indictment. There are serious minimum jail sentences which apply to all child pornography offences. This means that if you are convicted of one of these offences you MUST go to jail. The judge has no choice in the matter and jail MUST be part of your sentence. The amount of jail time required depends on the offence and whether the crown prosecutor decides to proceed by summary conviction or indictment. Although the crown is free to choose either mode of prosecution, in almost ALL cases the crown will choose to proceed by indictment. That means, the minimum jail sentences are much higher. Up to one year minimum jail. In addition, courts generally sentence much higher than the minimum required for these types of offences. As such, it is important that you hire experienced and effective counsel to represent you. We are highly experienced in defending these very complex cases.

163. (1) Every one commits an offence who

(a) makes, prints, publishes, distributes, circulates, or has in his possession for the purpose of publication, distribution or circulation any obscene written matter, picture, model, phonograph record or other thing whatever; or

(b) makes, prints, publishes, distributes, sells or has in his possession for the purpose of publication, distribution or circulation a crime comic.

Marginal note: Idem

(2) Every one commits an offence who knowingly, without lawful justification or excuse,

(a) sells, exposes to public view or has in his possession for such a purpose any obscene written matter, picture, model, phonograph record or other thing whatever;

(b) publicly exhibits a disgusting object or an indecent show;

(c) offers to sell, advertises or publishes an advertisement of, or has for sale or disposal, any means, instructions, medicine, drug or article intended or represented as a method of causing abortion or miscarriage; or

(d) advertises or publishes an advertisement of any means, instructions, medicine, drug or article intended or represented as a method for restoring sexual virility or curing venereal diseases or diseases of the generative organs.

Marginal note: Defence of public good

(3) No person shall be convicted of an offence under this section if the public good was served by the acts that are alleged to constitute the offence and if the acts alleged did not extend beyond what served the public good.

Marginal note:Question of law and question of fact

(4) For the purposes of this section, it is a question of law whether an act served the public good and whether there is evidence that the act alleged went beyond what served the public good, but it is a question of fact whether the acts did or did not extend beyond what served the public good.

Marginal note: Motives irrelevant

(5) For the purposes of this section, the motives of an accused are irrelevant.

(6) [Repealed, 1993, c. 46, s. 1]

Definition of “crime comic”

(7) In this section, “crime comic” means a magazine, periodical or book that exclusively or substantially comprises matter depicting pictorially

(a) the commission of crimes, real or fictitious; or

(b) events connected with the commission of crimes, real or fictitious, whether occurring before or after the commission of the crime.

Marginal note: Obscene publication

(8) For the purposes of this Act, any publication a dominant characteristic of which is the undue exploitation of sex, or of sex and any one or more of the following subjects, namely, crime, horror, cruelty and violence, shall be deemed to be obscene.

Our office is mainly focused on cases in London, Ontario and surrounding areas, although in some circumstances we have taken on cases outside of this area. Ellis Criminal Law has assisted clients from coast to coast - travelling to British Columbia, Halifax and the far north to defend clients. We have also assisted clients in the United States and Europe. We are willing to travel to assist you. If you're interested in obtaining legal counsel from Ellis Criminal Law please call our office and set up an appointment so we can review the specifics of your case.