Canada Case Law

R. v. Lekhraj

Court

British Columbia Court of Appeal

The convictions were set aside because the trial judge, in assessing credibility integral to conviction, relied in part on the appellant's character and discreditable conduct revealed in group chat messages in a manner that constituted prejudicial propensity reasoning; however the dismissal of the s.11(b) application was upheld because the complainant's illness constituted a discrete exceptional circumstance that mitigated the delay and the appellant's late filing weighed against a stay.

Source excerpt

• Sexual assault
• Child pornography
• Right to be tried within a reasonable time
• Propensity evidence
• Credibility assessment

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R. v. B.F.-S.

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The Ontario Court of Appeal granted leave to appeal sentence but dismissed the appeal, upholding an 11-year-and-3-month global sentence and related ancillary orders.

• Sentencing
• Child sexual abuse
• Child pornography
• Pre-sentence custody credit
• Ancillary orders
• Parity

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R. v. Woldemichael

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The Ontario Court of Appeal granted bail pending appeal, finding the appeal barely non-frivolous and the public-interest balance favoured release.

• Bail pending appeal
• Public confidence in administration of justice
• Enforceability vs reviewability
• Sexual offences involving children
• Child pornography
• Criminal harassment

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R. v. Francois

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed Eugene Francois’s sentence appeal, upholding a 76-month custodial sentence for sexual exploitation, child pornography and voyeurism.

• Sexual exploitation
• Child pornography
• Voyeurism
• Consecutive sentences
• Pre-sentence custody credit
• Aggravating factors

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R. v. Tate

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court denied a conditional sentence for child pornography offences and imposed concurrent custodial terms, probation, and ancillary orders.

• Child pornography
• Transmission
• Possession
• Conditional sentence
• Ancillary orders
• Soira

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R. v. MacLaughlin

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed Jason MacLaughlin’s conviction and sentence appeals in a circumstantial identity case involving online communications, phone records, and voice evidence.

• Identity evidence
• Circumstantial evidence
• Voice identification
• Child luring
• Child pornography
• Criminal harassment

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R. v. V.H

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The sentencing judge did not err in law by giving limited weight to parts of the forensic psychiatrist's report without a prior warning to counsel; appellate deference applies to assessment of expert evidence and the 12 year sentence imposed was not demonstrably unfit given the aggravating facts, so the appeal is dismissed.

Source excerpt

• Sentencing
• Sexual offences
• Child pornography
• Incest
• Expert evidence on risk and treatability
• Publication bans

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R. v. Greenlaw

Court

Supreme Court of Nova Scotia

Severance denied for Mahar, Rangers and Beaver because the factual and legal nexus with Greenlaw and other co-accused, the complexity and overlap of digital forensic and expert evidence, the need to avoid duplicative trials and witness fatigue, and the ability to schedule within Jordan limits meant the interests of justice favored joint trials; severance granted for Saarloos and Birchard because their charges were discrete, involved limited duplication (no viva voce complainant evidence), would be short, posed no real risk of inconsistent verdicts, and fit Jordan timelines.

Source excerpt

• Severance
• Joint trial
• Reasonable time (jordan)
• Child pornography
• Digital forensics
• Witness fatigue

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R. v. Trimm

Court

Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal

Leave to appeal sentence granted; the 12‑month sentence for distribution of child pornography is not demonstrably unfit and is upheld; the sentence for child luring was demonstrably unfit and is reduced to 12 months, to be served consecutively, producing a total of 24 months imprisonment; the Court declined to decide the Charter s.12 challenge to the mandatory minimum for distribution because it would not affect the result and resolution is better left to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Source excerpt

• Child pornography
• Child luring
• Mandatory minimum sentences
• Charter s.12 (cruel and unusual punishment)
• Sentencing principles (proportionality, parity, totality)
• Mental health mitigation

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R. v. Covil

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The sentencing judge's reasons were inadequate because they did not explain why a six‑year global sentence was necessary given comparable authorities; the Court set aside the sentence and substituted a fit effective global sentence of five years imprisonment and applied the agreed 43.5 months Summers credit resulting in a net 16.5 months from the date of sentence (May 11, 2023).

Source excerpt

• Child pornography
• Distribution vs possession
• Pre‑sentence custody credit (summers and duncan)
• Breach of s.161 prohibition order
• Adequacy of reasons

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