The accused was convicted of being an occupant of a hotel room while knowingly permitting two 15-year-old females to use the room for acts of prostitution, contrary to section 171 of the Criminal Code.
The Crown proceeded by indictment, triggering a mandatory minimum sentence of 12 months imprisonment.
The accused challenged the constitutionality of the mandatory minimum sentence as violating section 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (cruel and unusual punishment).
The court determined that a fit sentence without the mandatory minimum would be 60 days imprisonment followed by probation.
Finding that the 12-month mandatory minimum was grossly disproportionate to the circumstances of the case, the court declared the mandatory minimum unconstitutional as applied and imposed the alternative sentence.
