The accused was tried on charges of invitation to sexual touching and child luring arising from an online MSN conversation with a 14-year-old complainant whom he knew through the cadets program and over whom he held authority.
The court admitted the complainant’s saved and printed copy of the chat, finding it sufficiently authenticated and admissible under the electronic document provisions of the Canada Evidence Act.
On the merits, the court found the accused knew the complainant was under 16, relying on the complainant’s express age statement, the statutory presumption, and the absence of reasonable steps to ascertain age.
The court rejected the submission that the exchange was merely a joke and held the communication was a persistent attempt to induce the complainant to expose himself and masturbate for money, establishing the requisite sexual purpose.
Guilty findings were entered on both counts.
