1. Committing depraved acts without the use of violence by a person who has reached the age of eighteen against a person who has not reached the age of sixteen, -
shall be punishable by compulsory labor for a term of up to four hundred and forty hours, or by restriction of liberty for a term of up to three years, or by forced labor for a term of up to five years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to three years or without it, or by imprisonment for a term of up to three years. for a term of up to three years with or without deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to ten years.
2. The same act committed against a person who has reached the age of twelve, but has not reached the age of fourteen, -
shall be punishable by imprisonment for a term of three to eight years with or without deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to fifteen years and with or without restriction of freedom for a term of up to two years.
3. Acts provided for in parts one or two of this article, committed in relation to two or more persons, -
shall be punishable by imprisonment for a term of five to twelve years with or without deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to twenty years.
4. Acts provided for in parts one, two or three of this article, committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy or by an organized group, -
shall be punishable by imprisonment for a term of seven to fifteen years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to twenty years or without it and with restriction of freedom for a term of up to two years or without it.
5. The act provided for in part two of this article, committed by a person who has a criminal record for a previously committed crime against the sexual integrity of a minor, -
shall be punishable by imprisonment for a term of ten to fifteen years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to twenty years.
- Article 134. Sexual intercourse and other actions of a sexual nature with a person under sixteen years of age
- Article 136. Violation of equality of rights and freedoms of man and citizen
What is considered lewd acts
The concept of indecent acts is disclosed in Resolution of the Plenum No. 16 “On the application of legislation by courts when considering cases related to establishing the origin of children.” Paragraph 17 states that all actions, except sexual intercourse, sodomy, lesbianism, directed against children 12-16 years old, in order to satisfy their sexual desire, as well as aimed at arousing interest in sexual contact, are considered depraved actions.
Such actions occur without sexual violence. To be more specific, the following actions can be classified as depraved actions:
- sexual intercourse performed in front of a teenager;
- demonstration of genitals;
- showing sexual poses to a child;
- tangential movements of the genitals of parts of the teenager’s body;
- showing photos and videos of sexual scenes;
- Conducting conversations on sexual topics that may arouse interest in sexual intercourse.
Criminal acts subject to criminal punishment are acts of a depraved nature directed against a teenager 12-16 years old.
The criterion by which such actions are qualified is actions directed against 2 or more teenagers. If the result of the crime committed is sexual intercourse and this is confirmed by an examination, then it is considered as rape. Responsibility for this is provided for in Art. 134 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
Basics
Any actions of an adult aimed at arousing sexual interest in a teenager and satisfying their needs are considered depraved. Moreover, by committing this crime, the person acts intentionally and disrupts the normal mental development of the minor. This act is criminal and is punishable by law. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Article 135) states that the perpetrator may be punished with 3 years in isolation from society for the first part and more severe punishment for the fourth and fifth. It is worth noting here that, by arousing an unhealthy interest in a teenager in sexual relations, an adult (man or woman) convinces him in every possible way that he will like it. There are no violent actions in this case. Everything is done according to the free will of the minor.
Corpus delicti
The object of criminal actions is the sexual integrity of a teenager. An additional object is psychological and physical development. A child who has come under the influence of depraved acts develops a cynical attitude towards sexual relations. Such a child, growing up, more often turns to prostitution and in the future commits similar actions.
The basis for the application of Art. 135 of the Criminal Code, is the age of the victim:
- in Part 1 of Art. 135 considers a teenager from 14 to 16 years old who has not entered into marriage;
- Parts 2 and 5 Art. 135 – teenager from 12 to 14 years old;
- Parts 3 and 4 art. 135 – teenager from 12 to 14 years old and from 14 to 16 years old. Moreover, the criminal knew the age of his victim.
Sexual experience does not matter here. If the child is not yet 12 years old, then he will not be considered a victim, since at this age he does not yet understand the meaning of such actions.
The objective side of the crime includes the use of indecent acts towards the victim. In fact, such actions can be of a varied nature. They have one thing in common - the focus of what is happening on one’s own satisfaction of sexual passion or on the excitement and satisfaction of sexual relations of the victim.
Actions aimed at corrupting a minor are physical and intellectual in nature. Physical actions include, for example, exposure of the genital organ and its stimulation, masturbation, sodomy, lesbianism, etc. All these actions take place in the presence of the victim.
Intellectual actions include influencing the child’s psyche through photo and video materials or using Internet resources.
The subject of criminal actions is a person who has reached the age of 18 and who does not have a marital relationship with the victim. This is due to the fact that a person under 18 years of age is not yet fully aware of the dangers of having sexual relations with a person under 16 years of age on a voluntary basis.
Note!
If this type of crime was committed by the parents or teacher of the victim, then this is an aggravating circumstance.
From the subjective side, a crime is characterized as guilt in the form of direct or indirect intent. Establishing whether the perpetrator knew or did not know the age of the victim is not mandatory. However, it is worth considering the fact that the perpetrator could have been mistaken in determining the age of the victim. The victim may look much older than his age.
Intentional acts involve the perpetrator knowingly committing acts of a corrupting nature. If the actions are not aimed at arousing sexual desire or satisfying sexual needs and the perpetrator realizes that his actions were of a corrupting nature, then such actions do not bear criminal liability.
Violent acts of a sexual nature (Article 132 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation)
This crime is often confused with rape, but there are significant differences between rape and sexual assault. They are as follows:
- When rape is committed, the perpetrator is only a man, and the victim, in turn, can only be a woman
- in cases of violent acts, the accused can be a person of any gender, as well as the victim, and it is not necessary that they be exactly the opposite sex
- The fact of vaginal penetration is recognized as rape; in fact, this is heterosexual contact, i.e. Man and woman
According to other facts, such actions are similar and constitute an encroachment on freedom, as well as sexual integrity. The lawyer representing the interests of the suspect gets acquainted with the results of the forensic medical examination, interrogates the victim or possible witnesses to the incident. Agree, it is necessary to take a responsible approach to preparing a list of questions for the victim, since this topic is quite sensitive (read more about the defense by the accused’s lawyer at the link).
Qualifying features
Qualification criteria are described in parts 3, 4 and 5 of Art. 135 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:
- Part 3 Art. 135 – liability for actions of a depraved nature in relation to 2 or more victims, whose age is described in parts 1 and 2 of Art. 135;
- part 4 art. 135- liability by a group of persons by prior conspiracy;
- Part 5 of Article 135 – responsibility of persons aged 12 to 14 years and having a criminal record for such actions. In this case, the criminal record must not be expunged.
A group action can be carried out either with one victim or with several. If the person himself did not engage in such actions, but contributed to this, for example, with advice, collection of information, etc., and at the same time conducted observation from the outside, then he is recognized as an accomplice to the crime.
Note!
Regardless of who played what role, organized or directly participated in the crime, everyone bears responsibility as the perpetrators of the crime.
Arbitrage practice
As an example of the article under consideration, we can cite the sentence passed by the court of the city of Naberezhnye Chelny.
During the court hearing, it was established that citizen N., with the goal of committing lewd acts, exposed his genitals in front of M., who at the time of the commission of this act had not reached the age of 12 years. Through this action, M. suffered moral harm.
N. admitted his guilt in full in court. Guilt was proven through the testimony of the victim, her legal representative, and witnesses. The judge qualified the act under Part 3 of Article 135 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation as the commission of indecent acts without the use of violence by a person who has reached the age of eighteen, committed against a person known to be under the age of twelve.
The sentence imposed a sentence of imprisonment for a period of 3 years to be served in a general regime correctional colony.
Depraved acts against minors
Depraved acts committed against minors include actions that have the following characteristics:
- a clearly sexual character is expressed;
- there are no manifestations of sexual intercourse, sodomy or lesbianism;
- the actions were committed in relation to a person who has not reached 16 years of age;
- stimulate or increase the victim’s interest in sexual relations, lead to the satisfaction of the attacker’s sexual desire.
Note!
Such an action is considered completed from the moment the actions aimed at corruption begin.
Compulsion to acts of a sexual nature (Article 133 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation)
Coercion itself represents specific actions by which the attacker forces the victim to have sexual intercourse with him. Coercion can occur in one or several ways; in general, the Criminal Code identifies the following methods of coercion to acts of a sexual nature:
- blackmail;
- threats of damage or complete destruction of any property belonging to the victim;
- threats to kill or cause bodily harm;
- possible financial dependence of the victim.
In the case when the prosecution presents evidence of coercion to perform acts of a sexual nature, the lawyer needs to look for evidence that is completely opposite and proves the opposite, which may be:
- witness's testimonies;
- correspondence;
- audio or video recordings.
It is worth noting that the accused may have personal belongings of the victim, but here our criminal lawyer is already proving the fact that these things came to the suspect from the victim herself and at her request.
ATTENTION:
Exemption from criminal liability and punishment
The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation does not provide for exemption from punishment for persons who commit acts of a depraved nature for the first time with a child aged 14 to 16 years. But if later these actions became not socially dangerous, since a marriage relationship was concluded with the victim, then it is possible to apply Article 80 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - exemption from punishment due to a change in the situation.
Since actions that qualify under Part 1 of Art. 135, can be attributed to actions of minor gravity, then the perpetrator can be released from liability due to repentance and reconciliation with the victim.
Responsibility
For indecent acts towards minors Art. 135 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation implies significant punishment:
- compulsory work up to 440 hours;
- restriction of freedom up to three years;
- forced labor (with a ban on holding certain positions) for up to five years;
- imprisonment (with the same ban on certain work activities) for up to three years.
If a child under 14 years of age is injured, the punishment will be harsher:
- imprisonment (with deprivation of the right to hold certain official positions) from three to eight years;
- prohibition from engaging in certain activities for up to 15 years;
- restriction of freedom for up to two years.
Corruption of several children at once is punishable by:
- imprisonment from 5 to 12 years;
- a ban on certain types of work for up to 20 years.
A crime committed by a group of persons will lead to:
- imprisonment from 7 to 15 years;
- a ban on certain types of work for up to 20 years;
- restriction of freedom for up to two years.
If someone who has already been previously convicted under Art. 135 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the punishment will be as follows:
- imprisonment from 10 to 15 years;
- ban on certain types of work for up to 20 years.
The victim's consent to any actions committed by the criminal will not mitigate his punishment.
How to bring a criminal to justice
A citizen who is 18 years of age or older can be held criminally liable for indecent assault.
To punish the attacker, you need to write a statement to the police. This can be done by the child's parents or guardians. The statement states:
- the name of the police department to which the applicant is applying;
- Full name and position of the person in whose name the application is made;
- personal information and telephone number of the applicant indicating who the victim is;
- circumstances of the case: time, place, actions of the criminal;
- the name or description of the offender, if it is a stranger;
- date and signature.
After accepting the application, the victim must be examined by a doctor. Only a specialist can give an opinion about the child’s health condition and whether he has any injuries.
Also, during the investigation, police officers take the child’s testimony in the presence of a psychologist, then examine his place of residence and talk with his parents. When the criminal is found, the case will be sent to court for further proceedings.
