The Crown appealed the directed verdicts of acquittal of the respondents on charges of keeping and being inmates of a common bawdy-house.
The trial judge had acquitted the respondents based on Supreme Court of Canada decisions regarding acts of indecency.
The Court of Appeal held that the trial judge erred in law, as there was evidence that the respondents offered to perform acts of masturbation for payment, which a trier of fact could find constituted acts of prostitution.
The Court also found sufficient evidence of frequent or habitual use to pass the directed verdict stage.
The appeals were allowed, the acquittals set aside, and new trials ordered.
