Case in Brief
A Case in Brief is a short summary of a written decision of the Court, drafted in plain language. These summaries are prepared by staff of the Supreme Court of Canada. They do not form part of the Court’s reasons for judgment and are not for use in legal proceedings.
R. v. DeSutter
Additional information
- See full decision
- Date: December 5, 2025
- Neutral citation: 2025 SCC 42
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Breakdown of the decision:
- A majority of the Court allowed the appeal (Justices Martin, Kasirer and O’Bonsawin)
- In dissent, Justices Rowe and Jamal would have dismissed the appeal
- On appeal from the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal
- Case information (41754)
- Webcast of hearing (41754)
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Lower court rulings:
- Conviction (Provincial Court of Nova Scotia – not available online)
- Appeal (Nova Scotia Court of Appeal)
Case summary
The Supreme Court of Canada sets aside a person’s acquittals for sexual exploitation and orders a new trial.
This appeal was about two counts of sexual exploitation involving teenage complainants. Sexual exploitation applies when there is sexual conduct within a relationship of trust, authority, or dependency between an adult and a young person, or where the adult takes advantage of the young person’s vulnerability. The primary issue in this case was whether the conduct was sexual.
Robert Joseph DeSutter was interested in magic and in particular he was attracted to the idea of sawing women in half. The Crown argued that Mr. DeSutter pretended to “saw” two complainants in half with a cardboard saw for a sexual purpose. Police also found a USB stick in Mr. DeSutter’s home containing images of females, sometimes clothed and sometimes undressed, in scenes involving being “sawn in half”. The Crown said these images showed a sexual motive.
The trial judge refused to admit the USB images because the risk of unfair prejudice was greater than their value. After reviewing the remaining evidence, the Crown had not proven the activity was sexual or that the relationship with one complainant was exploitative. She therefore acquitted the accused on the two charges of sexual exploitation.
A majority of the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal agreed with her decision to exclude the USB images and acquit the accused because the Crown did not otherwise prove the conduct was sexual. One judge dissented, finding that the USB images should have been admitted and therefore would have ordered a new trial. The Crown appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada.
The Supreme Court allowed the appeal.
As such, the acquittals for sexual exploitation are set aside and a new trial is ordered.
Justice Rowe read the judgment of a majority of the Court. You can watch a recording of it here.
A print version of the judgment that was read out will be available here once finalized.