e-2426 (Justice)

The Government of Canada is committed to protecting children from sexual harm, including by ensuring that high-risk child sexual predators can be designated as dangerous offenders.

A Dangerous Offender application is a special sentencing procedure that applies to high risk sexual and violent offenders and can result in an indeterminate sentence of imprisonment. Dangerous offender designations are available where an offender has committed a “serious personal injury offence” or one of the Criminal Code’s sexual assault offences (sections 271 to 273). “Serious personal injury offences” are indictable offences with a maximum penalty of ten years or more that involve: the use or attempted use of violence against another person; conduct endangering or likely to endanger the life or safety of another person; or, conduct inflicting or likely to inflict severe psychological damage on another person (section 752 of the Criminal Code, definition of “serious personal injury offence”).

Canadian courts have consistently held that child sexual offences, including section 151 (sexual interference), are “serious personal injury offences”, because sexual offences against children are in most cases inherently violent and, even in the absence of immediate physical harm, the offence inflicts psychological harm.