The sexual integrity of children is protected by Russian legislation. Activities of a sexual nature involving a child under sixteen years of age are prohibited by law. Their commission is subject to criminal punishment.
The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation contains more than one article, which provides for strict punishment both for direct sexual contact with a minor, and for any actions towards a child that were of a sexual nature, but did not lead to sexual contact. All of the above actions can have an impact on how the teenager's psyche will develop in the future.
Violation of the sexual integrity of a minor is punishable to the fullest extent of the law. Criminals who committed such a crime through violent acts are judged most severely.
Corruption of minors, Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
A child under the age of twelve is considered a minor. Young children are most protected by law, and therefore the Criminal Code of Russia provides for the most severe punishment for seduction of minors. In Russia, criminals are tried for pedophilia - the crime of seducing a minor is determined by Article 134 of the Criminal Code, if the victim is under 16 years of age. This article states what responsibility a criminal will bear for sexual contact with a child if the action was not violent.
In this case, the object of the crime is the natural physiological and mental development of the child. A minor of any gender is considered a victim of seduction. The crime is defined as rape if the sexual intercourse was forcible. A child who, due to his small age, does not yet understand what exactly is happening to him will also be considered raped.
How is a crime committed, what are the consequences?
The full corpus delicti in such cases is purely formal, because the consequences may manifest themselves in the form of pregnancy, a sexually transmitted disease, or not manifest themselves at all. That is, these consequences are not considered mandatory for opening a case and rendering a verdict.
Such a fact as corruption of minors manifests itself if a certain action was performed - sexual intercourse, acts of sodomy or lesbianism. If for any reason the crime being committed is prevented, then it is counted as an attempt.
Who is the subject of the crime?
The subjects who committed such criminal acts are ordinary citizens of sound mind, representatives of both sexes. Only one thing is important - at the time of intercourse with a minor, the second partner must reach the age of majority, because sexual intercourse between two minors is not considered a crime.
The outcome of the case will not be affected by the fact that the offender was intoxicated or under the influence of drugs.
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What motivates the criminal, his attitude towards the act that occurred
In most cases, criminals have no other motivation to act than satisfying personal fantasies about sexual intercourse with a child or teenager.
The article for seducing minors requires the presentation of evidence that the offender had intent, that he deliberately committed the act and understood that the person in front of him was under sixteen years of age.
The offender must have the following motivating motives:
- A perverted desire to perform a sexual act that is prohibited by law.
- Understanding that committing such an act will result in punishment.
- Awareness that such actions can cause irreparable harm to the physical and moral health of a child or adolescent.
What actions are considered child abuse?
This crime involves the following actions:
- the offender may demand that the child show his private parts;
- a minor is shown pornographic photographs or films;
- touching intimate parts of the body.
Such actions will be considered debauchery if certain conditions are met. They are:
- the victim's minority;
- the criminal's awareness of this fact.
The crime is classified as committed from the moment the attacker began his depraved acts. The Criminal Code defines punishment both for a single case of seduction of a minor, and for systematic depraved acts.
The subject of the offense is purposefulness, implying that the offender is aware of his actions and that the object of sexual advances is a minor. The circumstances of the crime can only be mitigated by the fact that the child looks like an adult and hides his age, encouraging acts of a sexual nature on the part of another person.
Severe types of seduction
In addition to the usual entry into relationships of a sexual nature, there are also more serious cases for which the rank of the crime increases, and the crime is punished more severely. These actions include:
- Having sexual intercourse with a 12-14 year old child.
- Relationships of a sexual nature with not one, but with two or more persons.
- Group sexual intercourse with a minor.
- A relapse has occurred in a person previously convicted under the same article.
In such cases, the penalty is increased, and the judge's verdict becomes much stricter.
How to prove child abuse
This fact can be proven by conducting a medical examination of the child’s condition, both psychological and physiological. If characteristic traces of sexual intercourse and traces of the criminal's DNA are discovered during the process, it will not be difficult to prove the crime.
How much do they give for seducing minors, what criminal punishment is provided by law? For committing seduction without the use of violence, the offender will go to prison for three or five years and will not be able to hold certain positions in the future - this is if the victim was over 14 years old.
If the seduced child has not reached the age of fourteen, the offender will be sentenced to 8 years in prison. For group actions, the term will increase to 12 years. In the content of the criminal article, corruption of minors, in the event of repeated commission of a similar crime, requires punishment in the same amount.
What the letter of the law says
Undoubtedly, sexual contact with children is prohibited by law. Responsibility for them lies in the sphere of criminal law, which will determine the punishment for such a terrible crime as pedophilia. Article 134 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation divides the degree of its severity according to age, namely:
- Sexual contacts with persons under sixteen years of age but over fourteen years of age.
- Sexual contact with persons between the ages of twelve and fourteen.
The first category is considered less serious and does not necessarily entail serving in prison. In particular, the punishment may be compulsory labor, restriction of freedom for a period of four years (during this time the person must report to the local police officer, he is closely monitored and his freedom of movement is limited) or imprisonment for the same period.
This mildness of punishment, one might say, is due to the fact that today sexual development in adolescents begins earlier than the specified age, and in many cases adolescents themselves agree to sexual intercourse. In this case, it cannot be considered rape. But on the other hand, by these years the child’s psychological constitution has not yet been properly formed, and therefore he cannot adequately weigh all his decisions. That is why adults do not have the right to reciprocate the desire of adolescents to have sexual intercourse.
In the case of the second category, the offender is provided exclusively with imprisonment for the crime of pedophilia. Article 134 of the Russian Federation provides for punishment in the form of imprisonment for a period of 3 to 10 years.
Correspondence with a minor, what are the dangers?
Correspondence with a minor, or a teenager under 14 years of age, threatens with real imprisonment for a very long term. Punishment for any attempts at intimate correspondence with a teenage girl or teenage boy who is not yet 14 years old is a very serious crime, so you should assume that this is just pampering and it won’t cost you anything. If a statement is written by your parents and they immediately come to your apartment to search them in order to unexpectedly confiscate all your computers and phones (the police always come without warning for such crimes), so that the person cannot be on the safe side and “clean everything up,” call and politely ask you to come, you definitely won’t be there, they’ll just come right away with an urgent search, everything will be confiscated in the presence of witnesses, and the suspect will go straight to the police department and will be held and interrogated there. Therefore, if such a situation occurs, you immediately need a lawyer. Straightaway! No testimony without a retained attorney.
What kind of punishment and whether there will be a punishment at all and whether law enforcement agencies will be able to prove at least something against you or your loved one depends entirely on the lawyer you hire. These are not simple matters. There are many opportunities to refute the charges and re-qualify the actions. Without a lawyer, you don’t need to say anything at all, then there may be nothing more than a couple of explanations to the operational workers and the case will not be dismissed due to lack of evidence.
What influences punishment?
The main factor is, of course, the personality of the person who is accused of corresponding with minors. There is some evidence that this is a pedophile, for example, during a search in the apartment, materials were found that clearly indicate that the person is interested in minors on an ongoing basis. Watches porn videos with minors, magazines. This has a very bad effect on the punishment and the court will strive to give the maximum term provided by law. But if this is an ordinary young man or not very young, who decided to correspond a little with a teenage girl and no materials were found in his phone or at home that would compromise him as a pedophile, then the court here may not be so strict.
The nature of intimate correspondence also influences punishment. Correspondence correspondence is different! It will be read and evaluated. You can have light correspondence with intimate hints (flirting), or you can have correspondence with various photographs of genitals that a person sends or asks to be sent to him. Everything is individual! The personality of the minor also influences the punishment and what the injured party is like. Many, many factors. And when minors accuse a lot of harassment or correspondence, they do it for various reasons: selfish motives, personal resentment, hatred, desire to take revenge for something. A lot of everything. The Internet generation is very advanced!
Refusal to initiate a criminal case under Article 134 of the Criminal Code
An example of refusal to initiate a criminal case under Article 131 of the Criminal Code (rape) and under Article 134 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
It was a very difficult situation here, but the lawyer managed to persuade and convince the parents of the victim, as it should be said, that according to the application that was filed, the initiation of a criminal case under Article 134 of the Criminal Code was refused. During the work, numerous negotiations were held with the victim’s parents.
In order for the preliminary investigation authorities to issue this resolution, a huge amount of legal work was done, and, of course, negotiations were held with the parents of the victim, who initially did not even want to communicate with either the lawyers or the parents of the young man.
At what age does responsibility begin?
Persons who have reached the age of eighteen are subject to punishment for crimes. However, there is a way to avoid it. The article for pedophilia establishes that if there is a small age difference between the offender and the minor, namely, no more than four years, he can be released from criminal liability.
For example, if a girl aged fifteen years old dates a young man nineteen years old, and there is a sexual relationship between them, then it is not considered pedophilia. In order for the fact of its presence to be established, the difference in age is of no small importance.
