Her character was attacked online by several adult men in a virtual "room".
British detectives are investigating the first case of alleged rape in the metaverse after a child was “attacked” while playing a virtual reality video game.
The Daily Mail reports this.
16-year-old girl was not injured because there was no physical violence. But that being said, she went crazy after her digital persona was attacked online by several grown men in a virtual “room.” She was wearing an immersive headset during the “attack.”
Police leaders are concerned that she suffered the same psychological and emotional trauma as someone raped in the real world, since the “VR” experience is designed to be completely “immersive”.
Ian Critchley, National Police Chiefs' Council leader for child protection and abuse investigations, said: “We know that the tactics of criminals to commit crimes are constantly changing. That's why our collective fight against predators, as in this case, is important to ensure the protection of young people online and the ability to safely use technology without threat or fear. The Metaverse opens the door for predators to commit horrendous crimes against children, crimes that we know have lifelong consequences, both emotional and mental. Thus, our policing approach must continually evolve so that we can continually pursue predators and protect victims in all online spaces.”
Details of the virtual reality case are reportedly being kept secret to protect the child amid fears that prosecution may not be possible.
One senior officer familiar with the case said: “This child has suffered psychological trauma similar to that experienced by someone who has experienced physical rape. There is an emotional and psychological impact on the victim that is more long-term than any physical injury. This creates a number of problems for law enforcement agencies due to the fact that current legislation does not provide for this.”
Police-suspected gaming developments have opened up new opportunities for cybercrime, including virtual robberies, ransomware, fraud and identity theft. However, current legislation is unlikely to cover rape in the metaverse, as the Sexual Offenses Act defines rape as physical touching of another person of a sexual nature without their consent.
The Metaverse also blurs geographic boundaries, making it difficult to determine which law enforcement agency has jurisdiction over an incident when users and criminals are located in different countries.
Recall that a Royal Navy sailor was fired because of his racy pictures on OnlyFans. However, he believes that this decision was “the best.”
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