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← Back to Law ExplorerLast verified: June 2026 · Source: laws-lois.justice.gc.ca
Sexual OffencesHybrid
§151

Sexual Interference

Sexual interference

Sexual Offences
Maximum Sentence

14 years (indictable) / 2 years less a day (summary)

Classification: Hybrid
🍁 Immigration Impact

Sexual interference is a hybrid offence with a 14-year indictable maximum. Under IRPA s.36(3)(a) a hybrid offence is deemed indictable, and the 14-year maximum is serious criminality under s.36(1)(a). Child sexual offences are treated with the greatest seriousness in admissibility assessments; deemed rehabilitation is not available and criminal rehabilitation is the only pathway.

🍁 In Simple Terms

Sexual touching of a child under 16. The serious route carries 14 years, so it is serious criminality regardless of how the case was actually prosecuted. Child sexual offences draw the closest scrutiny of any record, and no waiting period clears them.

Legal Text, Criminal Code s. 151

Every person who, for a sexual purpose, touches, directly or indirectly, with a part of the body or with an object, any part of the body of a person under the age of 16 years (a) is guilty of an indictable offence and is liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than 14 years and to a minimum punishment of imprisonment for a term of one year; or (b) is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and is liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than two years less a day and to a minimum punishment of imprisonment for a term of 90 days.

Amendment History (6)
R.S., 1985, c. C-46, s. 151
R.S., 1985, c. 19 (3rd Supp.), s. 1
2005, c. 32, s. 3
2008, c. 6, s. 54
2012, c. 1, s. 11
2015, c. 23, s. 2
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