온라인 성착취 범죄와 사이버 강간에 관한 고찰

Abstract

In the Internet era, Digital era, and Metaverse era, various types of sexual offences called digital sex crimes or cyber rape are being debated. Sextortion is a crime in which a criminal threatens a victim online, compels the victim to molest himself or insert an object into his or her body, and then to take a photo or video and send it to the criminal. In foreign countries, it is questioned whether sextortion constitutes rape. In this case, the perpetrator cannot be the direct principal of the crime of forced indecent assault or quasi-rape under the Criminal Code of Korea. However, the perpetrator can be an indirect criminal using the victim as an intermediary. Considering that online or digital sexual offences are on the rise in recent years, and many of the victims are minors, it is necessary to respond to these online sexual offenses through an active interpretation of the concept of indirect principal. Sexual offenses in the form of sexually abusing other users’ avatars or characters in a virtual world are also committed. Since cyber rape does not involve any physical harm, it is difficult to include it in the category of sexual offenses such as traditional types of rape. This is because real-world crimes focus on the tangible physical harm. Cyber ​​sexual assault using a character or an avatar is different from the traditional concept of sexual assault, which presupposes physical intrusion and harm. However, cyber sexual assault also causes harm in that it causes psychological pain to victims, so there is a need for punishment. In the era of Metaverse, when the second life in a virtual world will become common, the development of legal theories and the preparation of legislative policies are more necessary to regulate new forms of online sexual crimes. However, if this is a crime, it is necessary to consider a new model of crime that reflects the characteristics of the virtual space of the Metaverse era.