Invitation to Sexual Touching
Invitation to sexual touching is the offence under section 152 of the Criminal Code of, for a sexual purpose, inviting, counselling, or inciting a person under the age of 16 years to touch the body of any person, including the body of the accused, the complainant, or a third party. The offence carries a maximum penalty of 14 years on indictment and a mandatory minimum of one year. It is a designated SOIRA offence and triggers the full range of collateral consequences attached to child sexual offences.
Mass Tsang's sexual assault lawyers handle invitation-to-sexual-touching and related child-sexual-offence files with extreme care given the stakes.
Elements
The Crown must prove: (1) the complainant was under 16 at the time of the offence; (2) the accused, for a sexual purpose, invited, counselled, or incited the complainant to touch a body; (3) the touching was sexual in nature; and (4) the accused knew or was wilfully blind to the complainant's age. The offence does not require that any touching actually occurred — the invitation itself completes the actus reus.
Sexual purpose
"For a sexual purpose" is the key mens rea element. The Crown must prove that the accused acted with a sexual purpose — gratification or arousal of self or another. The element is inferred from the surrounding circumstances: the words used, the context, the relationship between the parties, and any other available evidence.
Age and the mistake-of-age defence
Section 150.1(4) limits the mistake-of-age defence to circumstances where the accused took all reasonable steps to ascertain the complainant's age. "All reasonable steps" is a high threshold — appearance alone is insufficient. Courts have required active steps such as direct questioning about age, examination of identification, and consideration of the surrounding context.
Close-in-age exceptions
Limited close-in-age exceptions apply to permit consensual sexual activity between young people. A 12- or 13-year-old can validly consent to sexual activity with a partner less than 2 years older; a 14- or 15-year-old can consent to a partner less than 5 years older. Both exceptions are unavailable where the relationship involves trust, authority, dependency, or exploitation.
Sentencing and collateral consequences
Conviction triggers: mandatory minimum sentence (currently 1 year on indictment, though parts of the mandatory minimum regime have been challenged); mandatory SOIRA registration; section 161 prohibition orders; weapons prohibitions; DNA orders; severe immigration consequences for non-citizens; and lasting employment and reputational impact. Sentencing focuses on denunciation and deterrence.
Related glossary terms
Check our blog post on invitation to sexual touching charges in Canada
