A cautionary note precedes the account of alleged sexual assault involving two minors. The individuals, aged 13 and 11, connected on social media, meeting at a middle school where they engaged in intimate contact and exchanged professions of affection. Subsequently, the girl accused the boy of sexual assault, a claim he refuted.
The subsequent trial resulted in the boy’s acquittal, shedding light on the complexities of sexual interactions among minors and exceptions to Canada’s age of consent laws. The case details were outlined in a provincial court ruling from July, recently disclosed online while protecting the court’s location and the incident’s setting in British Columbia under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
In Canada, the legal age of consent is 16, with provisions prohibiting individuals under 18 from engaging in sexual activities with authority figures or exploitative situations. Parliament has established exceptions to the consent laws for cases where the accused is close in age to the alleged victim. The Criminal Code permits 14 and 15-year-olds to consent to relationships with individuals up to five years older and 12 and 13-year-olds to engage with partners two years their senior. Children below 12 cannot provide consent for sexual acts.
The boy in the B.C. case contended that he believed the girl to be older than 11. Although the judge acknowledged the possibility of non-consensual contact as alleged by the girl, the boy’s testimony, supported by texts and evidence, raised doubts about the occurrence of sexual assault.
Despite the girl’s age of 11, the judge determined that the Crown had not proven the boy’s awareness of her age under 12. Given their close age proximity, the accused could argue that he reasonably believed she was capable of consenting.
The narrative of the two minors began through social media interactions in late April 2023, with subsequent in-person meetings revealing a romantic interest, although not formally acknowledged. Their encounters, including physical intimacy, were captured on CCTV cameras, portraying moments of affection and contentious actions.
The girl’s account described forceful behavior by the boy during a private stairwell encounter, leading to conflicting claims of consensual versus non-consensual actions. Subsequent events, including the girl confiding in her grandmother and involving law enforcement, highlighted differing perspectives on consent and accountability.
Despite the Crown’s contention that the boy neglected to ascertain the girl’s age, the judge accepted the boy’s assertion that the girl misrepresented her age as older than 11. The legal concept of the “close-in-age” exception was debated, emphasizing the importance of understanding and verifying consent, especially when the complainant is under 12.
The law aims to prevent individuals from engaging in sexual activities with minors they know or believe to be 11 years old, a distinction applied in the case where a 13-year-old boy genuinely believed the girl he met online was at least 12.