The offence of sexual interference criminalizes touching of underage persons for a sexual purpose, specifically persons who are under 16 years old. The part of the underage person’s body that is touched does not necessarily have to be sex organs or genitals. The key is whether the touching, regardless of the part touched, was for a sexual purpose.
The offence is set out in Section 151 of the Criminal Code:
151. Every person who, for a sexual purpose, touches, directly or indirectly, with a part of the body or with an object, any part of the body of a person under the age of 16 years
(a) is guilty of an indictable offence and is liable to imprisonment for a term not more than 10 years and to a minimum punishment of imprisonment for a term of one year; or
(b) is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and is liable to imprisonment for a term not more than 18 months and to a minimum punishment of imprisonment for a term of 90 days.
