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If a Suspended Sentence Shows Up on Your Ontario Criminal Record ...
If a Suspended Sentence Shows Up on Your Ontario Criminal Record ...
Then What?
You will have a criminal record.....
With a suspended sentence, a judge convicts you but suspends sentencing you, and instead releases you on conditions set out in a probation order.
Like with a conditional discharge, the probation order can last for one to three years. During that time, you must follow the conditions in the probation order. The conditions can include that you “be of good behaviour,” stay in the province, and not contact certain people or go to certain places. You may have to perform community service, give money back to a victim, attend counselling, or report to a probation officer periodically.
You will have a criminal record
The main difference between a suspended sentence and a conditional discharge is if you get a suspended sentence, you have a conviction registered against you. This means you will have a criminal record. After some time, you can usually ask for a record suspension, which limits access to your criminal record, but even that won’t erase the conviction from your record.
The judge can give you other penalties
With a suspended sentence, probation may be the only penalty, or it can be combined with other penalties, including a fine or a jail term of less than two years. But a judge can’t give all three of jail, a fine, and probation. You could get the following combinations: a fine and probation, or jail and probation, or jail and a fine.
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