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Aggravated Sexual Assault

Sexual assault, and in some cases, rape refers to the specific crimes of forcing sexual intercourse, sodomy, or sexual penetration that goes against the victim’s will and occurs without their consent. Sexual assault is not limited to just non-consensual intercourse, as it can include any sort non-consensual sexual act such as fondling, kissing and touching. (SITE2) Aggravated sexual assault is a more serious form of any general sexual assault crimes because the circumstances surrounding the crime are considered to be “aggravated”.

Aggravated Sexual Assault in Canada

According to the Criminal Code of Canada in subsection 273.1, "everyone commits an aggravated sexual assault who, in committing a sexual assault, wounds, main sentence, disfigures or endangers the life of the complainant and is guilty of an indictable offence and liable". It is considered to be a sexual violence, that is punishable by imprisonment. The severeness of the sentencing is dependant on the degree of seriousness and the amount of harm forced upon the victim.

Consent

Consent to sexual activity is defined in subsection 273.1(1) as "the voluntary agreement of the complainant to engage in the sexual activity in question". Consent arises many concerns as to whether it was obtained and as to what establishes consent and what does not in particular situations. Therefore, the code outlines particular situations that do not constitute consent at law. These include, but are not limited too; being incapable of consenting to sexual activity, when the perpetrator abuses a position of trust, power, or authority, and when the complainant consents to sexual activity, but then, expresses, by words or conduct a lack of agreement to participate in said sexual activity.

Penalties for Aggravated Sexual Assault

If an accused is found guilty of an offence of sexual assault, their sentencing can range in severity based on the extent of the aggravation that was associated with the assault. For instance subsection 273.(2) highlights that if a firearm is used in the commission of the offence, a first-time offender would receive a minimum punishment of imprisonment for a term of five years, whereas a second or subsequent offender would receive a minimum of seven years. A judge will use discretion when determining the sentencing of the accused, and consider extralegal factors, such as, but not limited to, history of offences, circumstances surrounding the incident, and lack thereof regarding the assault. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police also requires that all persons convicted of a sexual offence under the legislation officially register with the National Sex Offender Registry, where they provide a large amount of personal information and remain registered depending on the maximum sentence length for the crime.