‘Sabotage’ conviction is upheld at Supreme Court of Canada

Lawyers say the Supreme Court has opened the door to novel civil suits for fraudulently-induced pregnancies after a groundbreaking criminal law decision that defines what “consent” means in sexual assault cases involving deception.

At the Supreme Court, the judges agreed, albeit for differing reasons, that Hutchinson’s “condom sabotage” amounted to sexual assault – a holding that opens the door to civil claims for damages by women who unwittingly and unwillingly become pregnant as a consequence of their intimate partners’ deceptions, said Gillian Hnatiw of Toronto’s Lerners.

Read the Lawyers Weekly article