The appellant operated a club where members and guests engaged in consensual group sex.
He was convicted of keeping a common bawdy-house for the practice of acts of indecency under s. 210(1) of the Criminal Code.
The Supreme Court of Canada allowed the appeal and set aside the conviction, establishing a new harm-based test for criminal indecency.
The Court held that the Crown must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the conduct causes harm or presents a significant risk of harm to individuals or society, and that the harm is of a degree incompatible with the proper functioning of society.
The Court found no evidence that the consensual acts behind closed doors caused such harm.
