Rape and molestation of minors in classrooms and other places is severely punished according to the criminal law

　　The Supreme People’s Procuratorate recently issued the eleventh batch of guiding cases to guide the procuratorial organs in handling cases of sexual assault and abuse of minors. The guiding cases are Qi’s rape and child molestation case, Luo’s child molestation case and Yu’s abuse case.

　　Being perceived by others may be considered as "being in public"

　　In the case of Qi’s rape and molestation of children, the defendant Qi took advantage of lunch break, evening self-study and dormitory check-up to rape the murdered girls A(10 years old) and B(10 years old) several times in school offices, classrooms, bathhouses and boys’ dormitories, and brought them home for rape on the grounds of taking A girl out to see a doctor. Qi also molested the murdered girls C(11 years old), D(11 years old) and E(10 years old) several times, and molested the murdered girls F(11 years old) and G(11 years old) once each.

　　The case was protested by the Supreme People’s Procuratorate. After the Supreme People’s Procuratorate and the Procurator-General attended the Supreme People’s Judicial Committee to express their opinions, the Supreme People’s Court made a final judgment, and found that Qi, the defendant in the original trial, was guilty of rape, sentenced to life imprisonment and deprived of political rights for life; He was convicted of child molestation and sentenced to 10 years in prison; Decided to execute life imprisonment and deprive political rights for life.

　　The guiding case provides clear guidance for local procuratorates to accurately grasp the evidence review and judgment standards of sexual assault against minors and apply legal provisions such as "bad circumstances" and "public places in public" to commit crimes against minors.

　　It is reported that the criminal law provides for heavier punishment for committing rape and indecent assault on minors in "public places". Rape and indecency committed against minors in "public places such as campus, swimming pool and children’s playground" can all be regarded as committing crimes in "public places". In addition, those who commit crimes of rape and molestation of minors in places other than those listed in the regulations can also be considered as committing crimes in "public places" as long as the places are relatively open and there are many other people present, which may be perceived by others.

　　The Supreme People’s Court’s judgment on this case shows that school classrooms, dormitories, public toilets, collective bathrooms, etc. are places where unspecified minors are active, and those who commit crimes of rape and molestation of minors in these places should be deemed as committing crimes in public places.

　　QQ tricking children into taking indecent photos is obscene.

　　In the case of Luo’s child molestation, the defendant Luo threatened Xiao Yu, a 13-year-old girl, in a QQ chat with a false identity, forcing her to take a selfie and send it to her for viewing. In the process of handling the case, the judicial organ adopted the protest opinion of the procuratorial organ and found that Luo had constituted the crime of molesting children (accomplished), which should be severely punished according to law and sentenced to two years in prison.

　　The guiding case further clarifies that the indecent act of indirect physical contact with children has the same social harm as the indecent act of actually touching children’s bodies through network communication tools, which can be considered as the crime of molesting children (accomplished).

　　The crime of molesting children refers to the act of molesting children under the age of 14 by obscene means. The criminal law does not list the specific ways of molesting children, so it needs to be judged and determined according to the actual situation. In practice, as long as the actor subjectively aims at satisfying sexual stimulation and objectively commits child molestation, which infringes on the personal dignity and physical and mental health of a specific child, it should be considered as the crime of child molestation.

　　In the network environment, for the purpose of satisfying sexual stimulation, it is a serious violation of children’s personal dignity and mental health to ask children to take and send indecent photos and videos that expose their bodies through QQ, WeChat and other network software, and the actor sees the naked and sensitive parts of the victim through the screen, which has the same social harm as the indecent behavior of actually touching children’s bodies, and should be considered as the crime of child molestation.

　　Procuratorial organs should fix the electronic data in time when handling cases of using the Internet to commit obscene acts against children, and prove the fact that the perpetrator used the Internet to trick, force or other methods to ask the victim to take and transmit indecent photos and videos exposing his body for him to watch for the purpose of satisfying sexual stimulation.

　　Abuse of minors in the family can be subject to a restraining order.

　　In an abuse case, the victim ODA was beaten by her stepmother for a long time and many times, and the degree of physical injury reached the level of minor injury. The procuratorate prosecuted him for ill-treatment. At the trial stage, the court held that the charges charged by the public prosecutor were established, the evidence presented could confirm each other, and the sentencing suggestions put forward were appropriate and adopted. In court, the defendant made a first-instance judgment on Yu, and found that the defendant was guilty of abuse and sentenced to six months in prison and suspended for one year; It is forbidden for the defendant to commit domestic violence against the victim again.

　　The criminal law stipulates that if a family member is abused in a bad way, it will be dealt with only if the victim is told, except that the victim is unable to tell, or cannot tell because of coercion or intimidation. In criminal cases of abuse of minors, minors are often unable to tell, so they should be treated as public prosecution cases, and the procuratorial organs should initiate public prosecution to safeguard the legitimate rights of juvenile victims.

　　According to the relevant laws, when the procuratorate initiates a public prosecution, it may suggest that the defendant who may be suspended may be prohibited from engaging in specific activities, entering specific areas, places and contacting specific people. In the case of minors being abused by family members, combined with the circumstances of the crime, the procuratorial organs can put forward suggestions on the application of restraining orders to the court at the same time, prohibit the defendant from committing domestic violence against the victim again, protect the legitimate rights and interests of minors according to law, and urge the defendant to seriously reform during the probation period of probation.

　　After the divorce, if the spouse who lives with the minor children fails to fulfill the obligation of raising, maltreats the minor or commits other acts that seriously infringe on the legitimate rights and interests, and it is not suitable to continue to be the caregiver, according to the provisions of Article 15 of the Civil Procedure Law of People’s Republic of China (PRC), the procuratorial organ may support the minor or other guardians to bring a lawsuit to change the custody right to the people’s court, and earnestly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the minor.

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　　The Supreme People’s Procuratorate issued a proposal to the Ministry of Education.

　　The person in charge of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate said that in recent years, vicious cases of sexual assault and child abuse have occurred frequently, seriously infringing on the rights and interests of minors, affecting their physical and mental health and endangering social harmony and stability. Such crimes must be resolutely and severely punished.

　　The Supreme People’s Procuratorate issued three cases of crimes against minors’ rights and interests, such as Qi’s rape and child molestation, as guiding cases. On the one hand, it showed the firm attitude of procuratorial organs to strengthen the protection of minors’ rights and interests, on the other hand, it aimed to clarify the difficult problems of law application in the protection of minors’ rights and interests through guiding cases, unify understanding, accurately apply the law, and improve the quality and effectiveness of handling cases. The guidance case released this time is different from the past, which hides the personal information of the parties to the case, the location of the case, the handling unit and other materials that may enable people around the victim to infer their identity information and the details involving sexual assault. This is also to further protect the reputation and privacy rights of juvenile victims and avoid secondary harm.

　　In addition to issuing guidance cases to promote procuratorial organs at all levels to perform their legal supervision duties according to law and improve the level of law enforcement and case handling, procuratorates at all levels also further promote the construction of campus safety by sending procuratorial suggestions in a timely manner to prevent violations of minors’ personal rights, especially sexual assault and abuse of minors.

　　A few days ago, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate issued the "Prosecutorial Proposal of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate of the People’s Republic of China" to the Ministry of Education, suggesting to strengthen the top-level design in a targeted manner, further improve and perfect the system and mechanism for preventing sexual assault on kindergarten children and primary and secondary school students, strengthen supervision and inspection on the implementation of relevant systems for preventing sexual assault on campus, and severely deal with those who violate the law and discipline according to law. The procuratorial proposal has been highly valued by the Ministry of Education. This group/reporter Meng Yaxu