Sexual Offenses as a Form of Cybercrime

The author analyzes contemporary sexual offenses committed through information and telecommunications networks; clarifies the forms of remote sexual misconduct that are not currently prohibited (such as live sexual posing in front of a webcam, exchanging explicit messages and photos, etc.); examines regulatory measures adopted in other jurisdictions to restrict such conduct; and proposes measures to counteract criminal manifestations of a sexual nature in cyberspace. The measures identified by the author as necessary to reduce the incidence of such offenses include the imposition of a duty on service providers to report sexual offenses committed via the Internet; the establishment of a registry of persons convicted of sexual offenses; and expanded media coverage addressing the problem of virtual sexual exploitation. For educational purposes, the study recommends the development of informational materials describing both contact and non-contact forms of sexual abuse. The paper further analyzes the social harm posed by sexual offenses committed in a non-contact manner through information and telecommunications networks and proposes measures for the further improvements to specific provisions set forth in Chapters 18 and 25 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

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