Accused pleaded guilty to offences under ss 163.1(4) and 172.2(1)(a) CC. He was 17 on the offence date and at the time of arrest. Complainant worked for a modelling agency and Accused posed as a staff member of the agency via email in order to seek nude photos of the Complainant. After his arrest, the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT) published a media release on their website which prominently stated the Accused’s first and last name, age and city of residence. Media further published the story. Defence argued publication was a s 7 Charter violation and the appropriate remedy was a stay under s 24(1).
Held: Stay of proceedings granted.
The Court held that ALERT breached the Accused’s s 7 Charter rights and ran afoul of s 110(1) YCJA (which prohibits publication of the identity of a young person) and s 128 YCJA (which makes it a crime to contravene the publication ban). “There is prejudice to a particular young person where there has been a release of information naming that youth. But there is prejudice to the whole youth justice system when the state is responsible for the release of this information.”
D. Boisvert – Defence Counsel