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Buying sexual services is a criminal offence in Canada. Selling them is not. Since 2014 the purchasing offence has been s. 286.1 of the Criminal Code, and the person who sells their own sexual services is protected from prosecution by s. 286.5.
Almost every Toronto charge comes out of a sting: an advertisement placed by police, an undercover officer, and a recorded conversation. You do not have to meet anyone, pay anyone, or do anything sexual. Communicating for the purpose is the completed offence — and a conviction carries a mandatory minimum fine that no finding about your ability to pay will remove.
- The offence
- Obtaining sexual servicess. 286.1(1)
- Maximum
- 5 yearson indictment
- Minimum
- $500–$4,000mandatory fine
- Discharge
- Not availables. 730 is barred
Where the offence completes
Section 286.1(1) catches everyone who, in any place, obtains for consideration — or communicates with anyone for the purpose of obtaining for consideration — the sexual services of another person. The former law targeted communication in public; this one applies anywhere — a hotel room, a car, a phone call or a message thread. Read the wording against what actually happened and the case usually turns on the first box, not the last.
This chargeCommunicationAsking, offering or agreeing — in person, by phone, or in a message thread.The offence is complete here
AgreementA price discussed or accepted. Evidence of intention, not a separate element.Not required
PaymentMoney or anything else of value changing hands.Not required
The actAny sexual contact at all.Not required
Is prostitution legal in Canada?
Selling sexual services is not a crime. Buying them is. That is the opposite of what most people assume, and it has been the structure of Canadian law since 2014.
Before then, s. 213(1)(c) made it an offence to communicate in a public place for the purpose of prostitution, and both parties to the transaction could be charged. In Canada (Attorney General) v. Bedford, 2013 SCC 72, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down that provision along with the bawdy-house and living-on-the-avails offences. Parliament replaced them with the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act, which created the offences now in force.
So prostitution itself is not illegal in Toronto or anywhere else in Canada. Paying for it is.
Escorts, massages and messaging
What the service is called makes no difference. The offence is framed around obtaining, or communicating to obtain, sexual services for consideration. An advertisement that offers time, company or a massage is not a shield if what was actually being arranged was a sexual service for money.
Equally, arranging to meet someone advertising companionship is not an offence on its own. The Crown has to prove you intended to obtain sexual services for consideration — and that is where these cases are won and lost, because the whole conversation is usually on the record.
Messages count. There is no requirement that you meet, pay, or go anywhere. A text thread can complete the offence by itself.
How these charges are investigated
Nearly every one of these cases begins the same way: an advertisement placed by police, an officer posing as a sex worker, and a recorded conversation. That shapes the defence.
- The communication is usually captured in full, so what was said is rarely in dispute. What it meant usually is.
- The Crown must still prove an intention to obtain sexual services for consideration.
- How the phone, the device download and any statement were obtained is a separate question from what they contain.
What the penalties actually are
| Charge | Maximum | Mandatory minimum |
|---|---|---|
| Obtaining sexual services — by indictments. 286.1(1)(a) | 5 years | $1,000 fine; $2,000 for a subsequent offence |
| Obtaining sexual services — summary convictions. 286.1(1)(b) | $5,000 fine, or 2 years less a day, or both | $500 fine; $1,000 for a subsequent offence |
| Near a park, school or religious institution, or anywhere people under 18 may bes. 286.1(1)(a)(i), (b)(i) | As above | Doubles: $2,000 / $4,000 indictable, $1,000 / $2,000 summary |
| Where the person is under 18s. 286.1(2) | 14 years | 6 months in jail; 1 year for a subsequent offence |
A discharge is not available. Section 730 cannot be used where the offence carries a minimum punishment, and every version of s. 286.1 does. That is a change from the way these cases were once resolved, and it is the single most important thing for a first-time accused person to understand about a guilty plea.
Ability to pay does not excuse the fine. The usual rule in s. 734(2) — that a court may only fine someone it is satisfied can pay — expressly does not apply where the punishment includes a minimum fine. Time to pay can be sought, and a provincial fine option programme may be available, but the amount itself stands.
The 2026 safety valve does not reach these fines. Section 718.4, added by the Protecting Victims Act (2026, c. 19), lets a court go below a minimum only where that minimum is a term of imprisonment that would amount to cruel and unusual punishment for that offender. It says nothing about minimum fines. It can apply to the six-month minimum under s. 286.1(2).
How these charges are defended
Grouped by what each one attacks. Most sting cases turn on meaning and intention rather than on what was said, because what was said is on tape.
No intention to obtain sexual services
Attacks: the mental element
The Crown must prove you meant to obtain a sexual service for consideration. Curiosity, bravado, a joke, or a conversation that never became serious is not the offence. That argument is built out of the recording, line by line.
The service was not sexual, or not for consideration
Attacks: the elements
Time, company, photography or massage arranged for a fee is not the offence unless a sexual service was what was being obtained. What the advertisement said and what was actually discussed can be very different things.
Entrapment
Attacks: the prosecution itself
Where police offered the opportunity without reasonable suspicion, or went beyond offering an opportunity and induced the offence, a stay can follow. See our article on the defence of entrapment in Canada.
Charter breaches in the investigation
Attacks: the evidence
Sting operations generate phones, devices, recordings and statements. How each was obtained matters: an unlawful search or a breach of the right to counsel can lead to exclusion under s. 24(2).
Identity
Attacks: the link to you
An account, a number or a device is not a person. Where the Crown cannot prove who was typing, it cannot prove who communicated.
Resolution without a conviction
Attacks: the outcome
Diversion resolves the charge before any finding of guilt, which is the one route that avoids both the record and the mandatory fine. Diversion now sits in Part XXII.2 of the Criminal Code (ss. 715.44–715.6); the old s. 717 was repealed in July 2026.
What a conviction costs
The fine is rarely what clients are most worried about. A conviction can mean:
- a criminal record stored and accessible in the national CPIC database
- problems with immigration, permanent residence and citizenship applications
- being denied entry into the United States or other countries
- job loss, and being deemed ineligible for certain professions, licences and opportunities
- the charge being reported publicly in the media
- living with the social stigma of a criminal record
For someone with no criminal history, the effect of a conviction on their livelihood, freedom and future opportunities in life can be tremendous. Court proceedings are public, and some police services have published the names of people charged in sting operations.
What happens after you are charged
Before your first appearanceGet advice before the date, not after it. Decisions made early — what you say, what you preserve, whether diversion is realistic — shape everything that follows.Step 1
First appearanceShort and administrative. Nothing is decided, no evidence is heard, and you do not enter a plea. It confirms disclosure and sets the next date. Counsel can usually attend for you.Step 2
DisclosureThe advertisement, the officer's notes, the recording and any device download. The recording is the case, so it is read closely and in full.Step 3
Crown resolution discussionsWhether the charge can be diverted or withdrawn, and on what terms. Eligibility usually turns on the absence of a record.Step 4
Charter applications and trialApplications are argued within the trial, not before it. Outcomes include withdrawal, a different or lesser charge, an acquittal, or a finding of guilt.Step 5
Why Daniel Brown Law
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Daniel Brown Law is recognized by The Globe and Mail, Canadian Lawyer and Best Law Firms among Canada's leading criminal defence firms. Five of its lawyers are recognized by Best Lawyers in Canada for criminal defence.
Sting cases are a known quantity here
These prosecutions follow a pattern: an advertisement, an undercover officer, a recording. The firm has run them often enough to know where the recording helps and where it does not.
Discretion is the point
Most people facing this charge are worried less about the fine than about who finds out. Court is public, but how a case is handled, and how quickly it ends, is not fixed.
A team, not one lawyer
The firm's lawyers appear in Toronto courts daily, which means a date can be covered and a question answered without waiting for one person to be free.
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Common questions
Is any of this legal?
Is prostitution legal in Toronto?
Selling sexual services is not a crime anywhere in Canada. Buying them is, under s. 286.1 of the Criminal Code. So the answer depends entirely on which side of the transaction you are on.
Is it a crime to sell sexual services in Canada?
No. Section 286.5 protects a person from prosecution in relation to the offering or provision of their own sexual services, including for aiding, abetting, conspiring or attempting in relation to ss. 286.1 to 286.4. The law targets the purchaser, not the seller.
Are escorts legal in Canada?
Advertising or providing companionship is not an offence, and the person selling their own services cannot be prosecuted. What creates the offence is a purchaser obtaining, or communicating to obtain, a sexual service for consideration. The word used in the advertisement does not decide it.
Is texting an escort illegal?
It can be. Communicating with anyone for the purpose of obtaining sexual services for consideration completes the offence, and a message thread is communication. No meeting and no payment is required.
What the Crown has to prove
What if no sexual activity ever took place?
It does not matter. The offence is complete on the communication.
What if I was only asking out of curiosity?
The Crown must prove you intended to obtain sexual services for consideration. Someone who is not serious, who is joking, or who never meant to carry the transaction through has not committed the offence — though that argument has to be built out of the recording.
Can I be convicted if the other person was an undercover officer?
Yes. The offence does not require that the other person actually be a sex worker. Sting operations are the ordinary way these charges arise.
Does money have to change hands?
No. The offence is framed around obtaining, or communicating in order to obtain, sexual services for consideration. Discussion of price and ability to pay is evidence of intention, not an element that has to be completed.
Court, penalties and your record
What happens at court?
A first appearance is administrative: it confirms disclosure and sets the next date, and you do not enter a plea. Where the Crown agrees to divert the charge, it is withdrawn on completion of a programme and there is no conviction. Diversion now sits in Part XXII.2 of the Criminal Code (ss. 715.44–715.6); the former s. 717 was repealed in July 2026. Availability varies between courthouses and Crown offices, and eligibility usually turns on the absence of a prior record.
Will I have a criminal record?
If you are convicted, yes — and a discharge is not available, because s. 730 cannot be used where the offence carries a minimum punishment. If the charge is diverted or withdrawn, there is no conviction and no record of one.
What are the penalties?
On indictment, up to five years, with a mandatory minimum fine of $1,000, or $2,000 for a subsequent offence. On summary conviction, up to a $5,000 fine or two years less a day or both, with a minimum fine of $500, or $1,000 for a subsequent offence. The minimums double where the offence is committed in or next to a park, the grounds of a school or religious institution, or anywhere people under 18 can reasonably be expected to be. Where the person is under 18, s. 286.1(2) applies: up to 14 years, with a mandatory minimum of six months in jail.
Will my name be published?
Court proceedings are public, and some police services have published the names of people charged in sting operations.
This page provides legal information about obtaining sexual services charges in Toronto, Ontario. It is not a substitute for legal advice about your own case. Call Daniel Brown Law to discuss your criminal matter at (416) 297-7200.
Charges we defend
- Assault
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- Criminal appeals
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Learn more about some of the charges we defend. We defend more than what we have written blog articles about.
Charged with obtaining sexual services?
Daniel Brown Law defends purchasing and sting-related charges across Toronto and the GTA. Speak with us about your case in confidence before your first court date.