How to Completely Eliminate the "Hidden Corners" of Minor Protection

2024-02-07 06:43·China Youth Daily

When she first met a 7-year-old girl, Zhou Wen (pseudonym), Li Siyao, a prosecutor from the Seventh Procuratorate Department of the Haidian District People's Procuratorate (hereinafter referred to as the "Haidian Procuratorate"), was reluctant to link her with a "remote indecency" case.

Li Siyao clearly remembers that Zhou Wen combed two braids that day, and a pink hairpin was sandwiched next to the left sideburns, which was the pattern of the strawberry bear in "Toy Story". Li Siyao was just about to speak, but Zhou Wen quickly lowered her head and said timidly, "I really regret contacting a bad uncle on the Internet."

The "bad uncle" in Zhou Wen's mouth is the defendant in the "Shu child molestation case" handled by the Haidian Procuratorate. According to Shu's confession, within three years, he "molested" more than 40 minors, and none of the guardians of the victimized minors reported the case. He is currently being detained at the Haidian District Detention Center in Beijing, and the case is being tried by the Haidian District People's Court in Beijing.

The procuratorate recommended that the defendant be sentenced to the highest level

In July 2022, during a special inspection of a short video platform, a number of abnormal accounts were discovered, which may involve the use of the Internet to harm minors, so they reported the case to the Haidian Branch of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau. After investigation and verification by the Haidian Branch, the suspect Shu was arrested on suspicion of "indecency in the air". In September 2022, the Haidian Procuratorate approved the arrest of Shu in accordance with the law.

According to Shu's confession, since the second half of 2019, he has successively lured or coerced more than 40 minors to chat naked, make obscene actions, and provide nude photos and videos. When Li Siyao and other case-handling personnel opened the electronic data stored by Shu, they were deeply stung. There are more than 40 folders in Shu's mobile phone, all of which are named after the victim minors, all of which are private photos and videos of the victim girls. ”

Looking at the innocent faces in the folder, Li Siyao was very angry. "This is my wish, I hope that he will be severely punished by the law. Li Siyao said.

According to the statistics of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, from 2020 to 2022, procuratorates at all levels across the country prosecuted 7,761 people suspected of using telecommunications networks to commit crimes against minors, and prosecuted crimes such as "indecency in the air" and "online contact and offline sexual assault" accounted for nearly one-sixth of the crimes of sexual assault against minors.

On June 1, 2023, the "Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Handling of Criminal Cases of Rape and Indecency with Minors" (hereinafter referred to as the "Interpretation") came into effect.

In August 2023, the Haidian Procuratorate transferred the case to the Haidian District People's Court. The Haidian Procuratorate's sentencing recommendation for Shu was 15 years in prison. Li Siyao explained that in recent years, the mainland's legal system for protecting the rights and interests of minors has become increasingly sophisticated, and according to the Criminal Law and the Interpretation, child molestation can be punishable by up to 15 years in prison. "The 'Shu child molestation case' is very bad in terms of the means of committing the crime, the number of victims, and the impact of the case, and I hope to warn those potential perpetrators through this case. ”

None of the guardians of the more than 40 minor victims reported the incident

In the process of handling the "Shu Mou Child Molestation Case", Tian Ran, assistant prosecutor of the Seventh Procuratorate Department of the Haidian Procuratorate, came into contact with "aerial indecency" for the first time.

Tian Ran found that in the past three years, none of the guardians of the minor victims reported the case, and Shu used a variety of methods to commit crimes, and "making girlfriends" was one of the usual methods.

Tian Ran told a reporter from China Youth Daily and China Youth Network that Shu, an unemployed person born in the 90s, is good at forging his identity and specifically looking for girls around 10 years old on the Internet as the target of the crime, because "they are easier to deceive". Before the crime, he "soaked" on the Internet for a long time every day, watching short videos to find "prey". "I was adopted by my adoptive parents, but they didn't treat me very well and often locked me alone at home, would you like to be friends with me?" After finding the "prey", Shu took the initiative to show favor to the girls with the carefully crafted persona.

If you want to become "girlfriends" with Shu, you must pass the test of the "girlfriend trilogy". Shu asked the girls to exchange basic personal information with him, such as name, age, school, home address, parents' phone number, etc., and then, Shu would send false private photos of himself to the victim girl, asking for exchange, if refused, Shu would launch a psychological offensive, "I sent it to you, if you don't send it to me, do you dislike me" "I only have a friend like you" "Then I'll tell your parents that you secretly surf the Internet"...... Under Shu's soft grinding and hard bubbles and coercion and temptation, many victimized underage girls walked into the trap step by step.

To the surprise of prosecutors, many of the guardians of the minor victims were convinced that Shu was a 10-year-old girl. In order to accurately confirm the victim's information, during the handling of the case, they went to many provinces and cities, and "I can't remember how much closed-door soup they ate." Li Siyao told a reporter from China Youth Daily and China Youth Network that one of the biggest difficulties in handling the "indecent assault" case is the non-cooperation of the parents of the minor victims, as well as their incomprehension and blame for their children.

"It's all over, don't call again, we don't have to hold him (Shu) responsible. Liu Xia (pseudonym), the mother of the victim girl, did not want her daughter to recall the sad incident, and Liu Xia was a little indifferent in the face of Li Siyao's repeated calls. Li Siyao said that the available evidence shows that Liu Xia's daughter has been violated for three years, which is the longest and worst victimization, and she hopes to tell the girl the good news that Shu was brought to justice, "so that she will not be afraid anymore."

Another mother, Huang Cen (pseudonym), was so excited that she couldn't cry when she heard the news of Shu's arrest. "After more than a year, this string that was strained in my heart was finally let go and I was able to sleep well. Huang Cen said that a year ago, after she accidentally found out that her daughter was threatened by Shu and took nude photos, she contacted Shu as soon as possible and wanted to confront him. "You call the police, anyway, I know your daughter's name and school, and I'll send the photos to her classmates and teachers when the time comes. Huang Cen was so frightened that he hung up the phone.

Mechanisms for preventing violations against minors in primary and secondary schools need to be established urgently

Recently, at the second session of the 14th Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Ren Xuefeng, member of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and vice president of the Beijing Municipal High People's Court, put forward a proposal on "Strengthening the Establishment of Regulatory Mechanisms for the Prevention of Sexual Violations of Minors in Primary and Secondary Schools".

Ren Xuefeng pointed out that the protection of minors in individual schools only stays at the level of the rule of law classroom, and the relevant systems and mechanisms for supervision and management within schools are not perfect, the implementation is weak, the procedures are not clear, and the responsibilities are not clear. He suggested that schools should comprehensively institutionalize the protection mechanism for primary and secondary school students, from the "top leader" to the directors of all grades, class teachers, and classroom teachers, all of whom should clearly define their responsibilities for protecting students, establish effective accountability and punishment mechanisms, and force them to truly assume the responsibility of protecting minors.

Xi Peizhi, deputy secretary general of the Juvenile Law Research Association of the Shanghai Law Society, noted that in recent years, the proportion of sexual assault crimes in cases of crimes against minors has continued to increase, the age of victims of sexual assault crimes is getting younger and younger, and new types of crimes such as indecency and online sexual solicitation are representative.

"Parents are the first responsible for their children's growth, and they should always pay attention to their children's growth and changes. Xi Peizhi told the reporter of China Youth Daily and China Youth Network that the "Interpretation" has been implemented for more than half a year, and it is necessary to continue to do a good job in the publicity of the "Interpretation" and send a clear signal to lawbreakers that sexual assault on minors should be dealt with strictly and severely, so that more parents and children can pay attention to sexual assault prevention education and increase vigilance. Judicial organs at all levels should strictly grasp the spirit of the "Interpretation" and strictly apply the "Interpretation" in prosecution, trial, and other links, so as to ensure that the crime and punishment are uniform and the punishment is commensurate.

China Youth Daily, China Youth Network reporter Han Yang Xian Lotus Jie Source: China Youth Daily

Editor in charge: Wang Yijun, He Chunzhong, Wang Guoqiang

Source: China Youth Daily