Table 3
Police-reported online child sexual exploitation, by offence type and incident characteristic, Canada, 2023

Table 3
Police-reported online child sexual exploitation, by offence type and incident characteristic, Canada, 2023
Table summary
This table displays the results of Police-reported online child sexual exploitation, by offence type and incident characteristic, Canada, 2023. The information is grouped by Incident characteristic (appearing as row headers), Non-consensual distribution of intimate images, Total online sexual offences against children, Luring a child, Online sexual offences against children1, Invitation to sexual touching, Other online sexual offences against children4, Total online child pornography, Online child pornography2, Total online child sexual exploitation3, Possessing or accessing child pornography and Making or distributing child pornography, calculated using number units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Incident characteristic Total online child sexual exploitation Table 3 Note 3 Online sexual offences against children Table 3 Note 1 Online child pornography Table 3 Note 2
Total online sexual offences against children Luring a child Non-consensual distribution of intimate images Invitation to sexual touching Other online sexual offences against children Table 3 Note 4 Total online child pornography Possessing or accessing child pornography Making or distributing child pornography
number
Note 0

true zero or a value rounded to zero

Note 1

Includes online sexual violations against children and other online sexual offences where a victim was identified as being aged 17 years or younger at the start of the incident.

Return to note 1 referrer

Note 2

Includes offences under section 163.1 of the Criminal Code which makes it illegal to make, distribute, possess or access child pornography. All child pornography incidents must have had a cyber-related component. There are no victim files for online child pornography incidents.

Return to note 2 referrer

Note 3

Includes online sexual offences against children and child pornography. For the purpose of this Juristat article, "children" refers to victims aged 17 years and younger unless specified otherwise.

Return to note 3 referrer

Note 4

The category other online sexual offences against children is a catch all category that encompasses all other sexual violations against children (excluding online child pornography) which were facilitated by, or involved the use of, technology.

Return to note 4 referrer

Note 5

Cleared otherwise means that an incident was cleared by police but no charges were laid against an accused for various reasons. For example, the accused was diverted into a formal diversionary program, the victim or complainant requested that no further action be taken (where an accused had been identified), for reasons beyond the control of the department, etc.

Return to note 5 referrer

Note 6

Prior to 2018, unsolved incidents were classified simply as "not cleared." In 2018, more detailed options were added to better reflect the reasons why an incident may remain uncleared.

Return to note 6 referrer

Note 7

Includes incidents that had the same start and end date, as well as incidents that had no start date.

Return to note 7 referrer

Note 8

Excludes isolated incidents.

Return to note 8 referrer

Note 9

Includes incidents that were reported before the recorded end date.

Return to note 9 referrer

Note 10

Excludes incidents that were reported the same day the incident occurred and incidents that were reported before the recorded end date.

Return to note 10 referrer

Note: An incident is considered to be an online incident if it was flagged as a cybercrime. An incident is flagged as a cybercrime when the crime targets information and communication technology (ICT), or when the crime used ICT to commit the offence. ICT includes, but is not limited to, the Internet, computers, servers, digital technology, digital telecommunications devices, phones and networks. Crimes committed over text and through messages using social media platforms are also considered cybercrime activity. The data exclude the Quebec City Police in 2014 and 2015, the municipal police service of Calgary from 2014 to 2016, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) from 2014 to 2017, both the Saint John Police Force and the Canadian Forces Military Police from 2014 to 2019 and Dryden, a detachment of the OPP in 2022. Counts are based on the cyber violation which may not be the most serious violation in the incident. In 2023, the cyber violation was the most serious violation for 99% of online child sexual exploitation incidents.
Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey.
Total 19,516 2,624 1,705 480 154 285 16,892 2,210 14,682
Clearance status  
Cleared 1,542 807 408 128 128 143 735 303 432
Cleared by charge 1,073 611 326 36 126 123 462 210 252
Cleared otherwise Table 3 Note 5 469 196 82 92 2 20 273 93 180
Not cleared 17,974 1,817 1,297 352 26 142 16,157 1,907 14,250
Not cleared Table 3 Note 6 49 33 31 0 0 2 16 5 11
Open/Still under investigation 1,455 256 183 43 5 25 1,199 625 574
Insufficient evidence to proceed 16,150 1,275 953 218 15 89 14,875 1,258 13,617
Victim or complainant declined to proceed (no accused identified) 320 253 130 91 6 26 67 19 48
Number of violations  
Multiple violations 13,377 874 435 141 130 168 12,503 34 12,469
Single violation 6,139 1,750 1,270 339 24 117 4,389 2,176 2,213
Length of incident  
Isolated or single-day incident Table 3 Note 7 17,832 1,897 1,248 380 88 181 15,935 2,012 13,923
2 to 7 days 240 139 86 29 11 13 101 31 70
8 to 30 days 263 168 110 24 12 22 95 37 58
31 to 365 days 993 317 201 38 32 46 676 96 580
More than 365 days 188 103 60 9 11 23 85 34 51
Median duration in days Table 3 Note 8 125 51 48 28 75 77 364 83 364
Delay in reporting to police  
Reported same or next day 14,642 1,717 1,097 363 92 165 12,925 1,337 11,588
Reported same day as incident 14,193 1,528 981 321 82 144 12,665 1,261 11,404
Reported day after incident 449 189 116 42 10 21 260 76 184
Reported 2 to 7 days after incident 682 262 178 38 14 32 420 86 334
Reported 8 to 30 days after incident 917 195 125 35 10 25 722 214 508
Reported 31 to 365 days after incident 2,148 297 208 28 23 38 1,851 447 1,404
Reported more than one year after incident 995 107 72 8 11 16 888 93 795
Unknown Table 3 Note 9 132 46 25 8 4 9 86 33 53
Median reporting delay in days Table 3 Note 10 44 13 14 7 29 18 47 41 50
Date modified: