QUICK TAKEAWAY
Sexual Assault With a Weapon: If you sexually assault anyone with a weapon or an imitation weapon or if you cause bodily harm to the victim or a third party, you can be charged under s.272 of the Criminal Code. Sexual assault with a weapon is always treated as an indictable offence with a maximum sentence of 14 years if the victim is an adult. The maximum penalty increases to life imprisonment if the person is under the age of 16.
Table of Contents:
What is Sexual Assault with a Weapon?
Section 272 of the Criminal Code makes it an offence to sexually assault anyone with a weaponAnything intended to threaten someone or to cause death or injury or an imitation weapon or if you threaten to cause bodily harm or choke the complainant. You can also be charged if you cause bodily harm to a third party during the assault. In addition, anyone who aided in the offence can be charged under this section.
Guns and knives are commonly used in this type of sexual assaultSexually touching another person without their consent but any other objects "a screwdriver, a club, a chain, even a pot of hot water" that can be brandished in a threatening manner would be considered as a weapon. Section 2 of the Code defines weapons as anything that can be used to cause death or injury to any person, or that can threaten or intimidate someone.
Sexual assault is defined as any touching of another person without their consentVoluntary agreement to engage in an sexual act where the touching is of a sexual nature, or where the sexual integrity of the alleged victim is violated. Victims and the attacker can be male or female and it does not matter if they are married.
What is Needed to Convict
The Crown prosecutorLawyers who prosecutes charges on behalf of the Crown must establish beyond a reasonable doubtThe standard that must be exceeded to find someone guilty that you were responsible for the sexual assault and that a weapon was used. If there are no witnesses or surveillance footage of the incident, the court will have to weigh the testimony of the complainant against that of the accused. Physical evidence such as traces of semen may be available although that does not indicate if the sexual interaction was forced or consensual.
Treated as an Indictable Offence
Unlike lesser sexual assault charges that can proceed by summary conviction and result in less severe penalties, sexual assault with a weapon is always considered an indictable offenceIndictable offences are more-serious criminal offences and can result in lengthy prison sentences.
Punishment for Sexual Assault with a Weapon
If a firearm is used or if the sexual assault was at the direction of or in association with a criminal organization, the maximum sentence is 14 years in prison. If the complainant is under the age of 16, the maximum penalty is life in prison.
A conviction for any sexual assault also carries mandatory registration in the National Sex Offender Registry along with collection of your DNA, which will be held in the DNA Data Bank.
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Glossary of Legal Terms
Consent
The voluntary agreement of the complainant to engage in the sexual activity in question.
Crown prosecutor
Lawyers who act for the federal, provincial and territorial governments and prosecute people accused of crimes on behalf of the Crown.
Indictable offence
Indictable offences are the most serious offences under the Criminal Code and they come with more serious punishments, up to a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Reasonable doubt
The Supreme Court of Canada has said that reasonable doubt “falls much closer to absolute certainty than to proof on a balance of probabilities” and “that something less than absolute certainty is required, and that something more than probable guilt is required."
Sexual assault
An assault of a sexual nature that violates the sexual integrity of the victim. The Supreme Court has ruled that the act of sexual assault does not depend solely on contact with any specific part of the human anatomy but rather if the act violates the sexual integrity of the victim.
Weapon
Anything used, designed to be used or intended for the use of causing death or injury to any person or threatening or intimidating any person. It can also be anything that is used to bind or tie someone up against their will
