The accused, a 30-31 year old man, was charged with child luring under section 172.1(1)(b) of the Criminal Code for communicating with a 13-14 year old girl via Facebook Messenger over a 17-month period.
The Crown alleged the communications were for the purpose of facilitating sexual assault or abduction.
The defence conceded the accused communicated intentionally with a person under 16 years of age but disputed whether the communications were for the specified criminal purpose.
The court found that the messages, when read contextually and considering the meaning of emojis used, constituted grooming behaviour designed to facilitate a designated offence.
The accused was convicted.
