Civil action vs. criminal proceedings
The following is not intended as legal advice. If you have been the victim of sexual abuse or sexual assault you should contact a lawyer experienced in this area to seek legal advice. My background and contact information can be found on the "About Me" page. For ease of reference, I can be contacted at: T: 416-363-1867, Ext. 225 E-mail: mwilchesky@rochongenova.com 1) What is the difference between criminal proceedings and a civil action? Remedies The first thing to understand is that these proceedings are fundamentally different. A criminal proceeding involves the prosecution of the perpetrator of the assault by the government (i.e. the "Crown", in Ontario). The consequences to the perpetrator (i.e. the accused), if convicted of the offence, could involve, among other things, jail time, a "conditional sentence", a fine, various conditions such as a "no contact" order, an order that the perpetrator remain a certain distance away from the victim