Police are investigating a virtual sexual assault of a girl’s avatar, the chair of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners has said.
Donna Jones said she had learned that a complaint was made in 2023, triggering a police inquiry.
The virtual incident did not result in physical harm but caused “psychological trauma”, the Daily Mail has reported a source as saying. Police chiefs have called on platforms to do more to protect their users.
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The impact of the attack on the girl’s avatar was said to be heightened because of the immersive nature of the VR experience.
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/42/part/1/crossheading/assault
https://www.findlaw.com/state/new-york-law/new-york-sexual-assault-laws.html
https://www.shouselaw.com/ca/defense/penal-code/243-4/
You can look at other jurisdictions, but physical contact is core to the definition.
nope
https://vindicatelaw.com/assault-vs-battery-are-they-the-same-or-different-crimes/
https://www.findlaw.com/criminal/criminal-charges/assault-and-battery-overview.html
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/assault_and_battery
I gave you the relevant jurisdiction and two major US ones. In all three cases, it cannot be sexual assault without actual sexual contact with the victim.
Regular assault isn’t relevant here.
And one of them says.
The one that also tells you California uses the terms interchangeably?
Yep.
But that still doesn’t change the way the legal systems views the terms assault and battery
This topic isn’t about assault vs battery. This topic is about sexual assault.
In the relevant legal system (and two major US ones), the law requires actual physical contact for sexual assault.