Chinese authorities seek tougher sentences to make examples of child molesters
- Forcing children to take nudes of themselves and sending them on internet should be considered child molestation, say prosecutors
Child sex offenders can expect tougher punishment – even if they do not physically touch their victims – after two precedent-setting decisions in appeals lodged by China’s highest prosecutorial agency.
Zheng Xinjian, director of juvenile prosecutions at the Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP), made the assessment after the SPP won tougher sentences for two offenders on appeal.
In a statement on the agency’s website, Zheng said sexual assaults, abuse and other crimes against minors had become far too common and threatened social harmony and stability.
“Appealing these cases is to show that crimes against minors will be severely punished and to strengthen guidance to lower level courts to crack down on such crimes,” he said.
In one of the cases, a 25-year-old man used instant messaging software to groom then coerce a 13-year-old girl into taking photos of herself naked. She sent him 10 images. Not satisfied, he demanded the teenager have sex with him in a hotel or he would publish the photos online, according to the SPP.
The girl reported the threats to police and the man was arrested and tried in July last year.