Sexual relations may entail a threat to a person's integrity. This is especially true for minors. This crime is considered molestation of persons under 16 years of age. For molestation of minors, Articles 134 and 135 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation establish liability, even criminal liability.
Article 135 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation describes liability for committing indecent acts against minors. Such actions are those that are sexually oriented but do not lead to sexual contact.
Molestation will be considered actions during which minors are involved in sexual relations. Moreover, this may not necessarily be sexual intercourse. Any behavior of this nature is a crime, but only if the victim is a minor.
Article 134 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation establishes punishment for seducing minors or for any other indecent acts of a sexual nature against them. It is important that this article deals specifically with voluntary sexual intercourse. In the opposite situation, the crime will be considered under other articles: rape (Article 131 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) or sexually violent acts against a minor (Article 132 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
Characteristics of the crime
Corruption of minors in the Criminal Code is regulated by two articles: 134 and 135. One of them provides sanctions for committing indecent acts towards a minor without sexual contact, the second punishes for sexual contact with a minor, but exclusively on a voluntary basis. If there was coercion or violence, then the actions of the offender will be qualified under another article, for example, under 131 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, rape.
An article for pedophilia may not be charged if there is a small age difference between the lawbreaker and the victim. For example, if a 15-year-old girl meets an 18-year-old guy and they have sexual contact, then these actions will not be classified as pedophilia. To establish the fact of pedophilia, the age difference is very important.
The article for corruption of minors will not be charged if, after sexual intercourse, the offender marries his victim. This applies only to cases where the victim has reached the age of 14; before this, the actions of the offender are criminally punishable.
The article on pedophilia has two degrees of severity:
- for corruption of minors under 16 years of age;
- for corruption of minors under 12 years of age.
The first category of crimes is considered less serious and does not imply deprivation of liberty; in some cases, as mentioned above, the offender can avoid criminal liability altogether. Corruption of children under 12 years of age is considered a particularly serious crime and is subject to the strictest sanctions.
Due to their development, young children are not able to understand what is happening to them and give consent to any actions of a sexual nature. If the child himself agrees and even assists the offender in every possible way, this will still be considered pedophilia.
Punishment for child molestation
For indecent acts with a minor (Article 135 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), the offender will receive from 3 to 5 years in prison or 440 hours of forced labor. Separately, it should be noted the presence of certain circumstances in the case and the punishment for them:
- crime against a minor (child under 12 years of age) – sentence 8 years;
- indecent acts with several children at once - 8-12 years in prison;
- the crime was committed by a group of people - 15 years of strict regime.
It is important to note that criminal liability for the offender will occur if he was 18 years old at the time of the crime, the victim was under 16, and he was immature.
Corpus delicti
In order for Article 135 or 134 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation to be imputed, it is necessary to detect elements of a crime in the actions of the offender. The object of the criminal act in both articles is the sexual integrity, physical health and moral development of a minor.
According to Part 1 of Art. 134 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the victim can only be a female child who has not reached puberty, and according to Part 2 - in case of sodomy, the victim is exclusively a male child, in case of lesbianism - a female child.
Article for drunkenness of minors in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
By puberty we mean the final stage of physiological development - the period after which it is possible to conceive a child, become pregnant and give birth to a baby without causing harm to the body. To determine sexual maturity after committing a crime, appropriate examinations are prescribed, as a rule, to female persons.
The objective side of the violation is active sexual activity against a minor, whether or not it involves sexual intercourse. Depending on the nature of the criminal’s actions, Article 134 or 135 is selected.
It is important to note that the following criteria may be objective signs:
- bodily touching of a sexual nature;
- words that encourage sexual intercourse;
- sexual positions;
- demonstration of genitals;
- distribution of literature containing sexually explicit information.
The article for corruption of minors is charged to a mentally healthy subject, starting from the age of 16 for the corruption of a minor, and when committing sexual contact with a minor, responsibility begins at the age of 18.
The subjective side of the violation must be direct intent; the guilty person must be aware that he is engaging in sexual contact with a minor. Many offenders charged with child molestation insist that they did not know the age of the victim. On the one hand, this is quite possible, because girls do not always look their age, they try to dress, make up and behave like adult women, but in most cases this is just a trick to reduce the term.
The crime is considered completed after having sexual contact with a minor or after committing other acts of a sexual nature.
If a boy and a girl aged 15 and 14 years have had sexual contact, then there is no corpus delicti. The violator, a boy, is not fully aware of his actions due to his age; accordingly, he is not the subject of the violation, and he also lacks a subjective side, he does not have malicious intent. To a greater extent, he is driven by interest. A preventive conversation will be conducted with minors, as well as with their parents. In some cases, it is the parents who may be held accountable for improperly raising a child.
Qualification nuances
To qualify a criminal act means to identify in the actions or inaction of a person all the necessary fragments (signs, elements) of a criminal offense and reasonably correlate them with a specific article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation included in the special part.
Article 134 (like all others) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation describes the elements of criminal offenses, including:
- Object – what is being harmed or can be harmed.
- The objective side is a set of specific actions, objects with the help of which the act is committed, as well as the consequences.
- The subjective side is how the criminal feels about the offense committed or being committed.
- Subject is an individual who has committed or is committing a criminal act.
The qualification process is widespread and is used by both lawyers and ordinary people who, to one degree or another, come into contact with criminal law.
What is harmed and who is the victim?
According to the comments to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the object of the crime is the health and integrity of a person’s sexual integrity; physical and moral development and education of minors.
Victims (victims) from such criminal attacks, within the meaning of article number 134 of the criminal law of Russia, are only minors, the so-called juveniles, and minors. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation does not provide a definition of the categories “minor” and “minor”, thereby referring to other legislative acts (Civil Code of the Russian Federation, Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation and others).
Although the article in question quite clearly indicates the age limits of protected persons:
- a boy or girl in the age range from 14 to 16 years;
- boy or girl in the age range of 12 to 14 years.
Important: adolescents who have been harmed must objectively evaluate and correctly perceive what is happening to them.
In addition, it is necessary for them to express their good will (consent) to enter into an intimate relationship or to take the initiative for this kind of intimacy. If in fact the situation is different, the actions of the accused (accused) should be regarded as sexual violence against a helpless person accordingly and qualified under a more serious article.
How is a criminal act committed and its consequences?
The composition of this criminal perversion is classified as formal. This means that for a criminal offense to be considered completed, the consequences (pregnancy, sexually transmitted disease, etc.) are completely optional.
The tort is considered to have occurred simultaneously with the beginning of the actions listed in the disposition of the article:
- Sexual intercourse (intercourse).
- Act of sodomy.
- The act of lesbianism.
These terms do not belong to the legal category.
Their definition falls within the competence of medical science – sexology. Sexual intercourse is physical intimacy between people of different sexes, accompanied by the insertion of the male genital organ into the vagina and suggesting the possibility of procreation (pregnancy).
Sodomy is physical intimacy between male homosexuals, accompanied by the insertion of the male genital organ of the active partner into the rectum of the passive one.
Lesbianism is physical intimacy between female homosexuals, accompanied by the satisfaction of sexual needs through physical contact with the partner’s genitals.
The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in the latest edition, the type and absence of any coercion (violent actions, threats, etc.) is a mandatory component of the construction of the objective side of the criminal offense provided for in Art. 134 of the criminal law of Russia. If a judge or investigator establishes a different act, it must be classified as more serious.
If, due to circumstances beyond the control of the attacker (someone placed him, was physically unable to commit sexual intercourse, etc.), the crime did not take place, an attempt takes place.
Preparation is considered to be the deliberate creation of the environment or necessary conditions for pedophilia. For example, an attacker makes an appointment with the victim via the Internet or in another way, but he does not come for some reason.
How does the criminal feel about the act and what motivates him?
The article for pedophilia provides for the possibility of committing a criminal act only with direct intent.
This form of guilt involves:
- awareness of the illegality and punishability of the act committed in full;
- foreseeing the inevitability of harm to the interests of the child;
- desire to commit a prohibited act.
Important: the materials of the criminal case must contain sufficient evidence that the offender had information about the age of the child or consciously admitted that he (she) had not reached the age of sixteen.
The motivation that prompted the crime is not particularly important. As a rule, such subjects are driven by the need to satisfy perverted sexual desires.
Who commits the crime?
Persons subject to liability for perversions of this type are sane adult men and women.
Important: reaching the age of majority at the time of the tort is an essential condition. In the absence of other conditions, sexual contacts between minors are not criminal. Alcohol or drug intoxication at the time of the offense does not affect qualifications.
Who is considered a minor
Before analyzing the legislative part, you need to say a few words so that there is no confusion. The fact is that the expression “corruption of minors” has nothing to do with the articles we are considering. This expression is used in everyday life, and although it is partly accurate, in fact it refers to both depraved acts themselves and sexual intercourse. And these are completely different articles.
Moreover, “minor” is a collective concept; the law divides the age of adolescents into three categories. And the punishment depends on these categories, on the age of the child:
- up to 12 years - according to the law, children of this age are considered minors, and for sexual assault on this age group, the law provides for the most severe sanctions;
- from 12 to 16 years old - these are minors - the law also prohibits both sexual contact, even by mutual consent, and indecent acts against these persons;
- from 16 to 18 years old - although the age of sexual consent in the Russian Federation starts at 16 years old, in some cases the legislation also provides for liability for persons who had relations with a teenager in this age group.
Let us note that if a libertine does not force a teenager to have sexual contact, then in the eyes of this teenager he is not a criminal. That is, it can be difficult to bring the culprit to light. A case often helps bring someone to justice - parents can see correspondence on the Internet, a child can tell something, or after a medical examination it turns out that a teenager has begun to have sex.
One way or another, each case is individual, but this does not detract from the fact that even children, out of shame or fear, keep intimate matters a secret. And if there is no evidence and testimony, then there is no crime.
To know whether there is a crime, you need to find out how the law characterizes it, what is considered corruption and what components this offense has.
What is considered corruption
Corruption of minors is regulated by Article 134 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Among other things, this article sets the age of sexual consent, which starts at 16 years of age.
The object of the crime, according to Article 134 of the Criminal Code, is the natural moral and sexual development of adolescents under 16 years of age.
And the objective side of the offense is expressed in sexual intercourse, both with a person of the same sex and the opposite.
The corpus delicti is formal. That is, it does not imply any consequences, and the crime is considered committed at the moment of sexual intercourse.
We also note that the subject of the crime, that is, the perpetrator, must be over 18 years old, and the subjective side of the offense implies direct intent. The perpetrator must know the age of the victim. Otherwise, due to the lack of corpus delicti, the case may be reclassified as an article under another part (more “soft”).
And if the victim and the perpetrator did not commit sexual acts, but on the part of the perpetrator there were moments that are characterized as depraved acts, then Article 135 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation comes into force.
According to this article, such actions can be:
- physical character;
- intellectual.
By physical nature we mean touching intimate places, and by intellectual nature we mean demonstration of pornographic content or frank and cynical conversations on topics that are taboo for a child.
Reference. As world practice shows, only actions of the first type are punishable.
Note that both articles assume mutual consent. If the molester forces a child to perform sexual acts, uses violence or threatens to use force, then the case is classified under Articles 131 “Rape” or 132 “Forcible acts of a sexual nature.”
Seduction of a minor: concept
Criminal legislation does not define the concept of “corruption of a minor,” nor does it use such a concept itself. This term is used in colloquial speech, in everyday life, and in the media. It refers primarily to behavior that influences a child and inclines him to engage in acts of a sexual nature. The terms “pedophile” and “pedophilia” have also become widespread, although formally they have a purely medical nature, and from the point of view of criminal law they can cover all (and any) elements of sexual crimes against children.
It is clear that each person can interpret the seduction of a minor differently. Some may consider some behavior to be seduction, others may not. Seduction (in general terms) can mean various actions:
- imposing a certain model of behavior, way of thinking, point of view, etc.;
- physical or psychological violence;
- sexual abuse;
- seduction;
- harassment (molestation);
- other.
The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for liability only for specific actions, and the qualifications of the offense can be varied. It is critically important that any form of seduction has a sexual connotation.
Qualified (more serious) types of seduction
The legislator has provided for circumstances under which the “degree” of public danger of prohibited actions increases significantly:
- Sexual intimacy with a minor - a boy or girl in the age range from 12 to 14 years.
- Seduction of two or more victims.
- Committing a crime by a group.
- Recidivism in relation to a boy (girl) aged 12 to 14 years – an intimate relationship of a minor with a person convicted of a criminal offense of a similar nature.
Persons who violate the law in the above cases face a significantly more severe measure of state coercion (punishment).
