In what is said to be the first investigation of its type involving the metaverse, British police are looking into the allegations of gang rape of a girl’s avatar in a virtual reality game.
The Daily Mail was the first to disclose that the claimed victim, who was only identified as a girl under 16, was being sexually assaulted by multiple males as she was playing an immersive virtual reality game with an avatar that was an animated picture of her.
Police sources informed the newspaper that even though the accuser did not receive any physical injuries, she might have experienced anguish akin to that of someone who had been raped in real life.
“The victim experiences a longer-lasting emotional and psychological impact than any physical injuries,” a senior officer with case-knowledge told
Nevertheless, officials in the UK worry that it could not be viable to prosecute under the current laws, which define sexual assault as having sex without consent.
The probe has sparked debate over whether law enforcement should be devoting time and scarce resources to looking into crimes in the metaverse while also dealing with a significant backlog of rape cases that occur in person.
But James Cleverly, the home secretary, defended the groundbreaking VR rape investigation.
The senior lawmaker said on LBC’s “Nick Ferrari at Breakfast” program, “I know it is easy to dismiss this as being not real, but the whole point of these virtual environments is they are incredibly immersive.”
He continued, “And we’re talking about a child here, and a child has experienced sexual trauma.”
“We should be extremely cautious about dismissing this because it will have had a very significant psychological effect.”
Remarkably, Cleverly added, “Someone that could go on to do terrible things in the physical realm could be someone who is willing to rape a child’s avatar in a video game.”
Echoing Cleverly’s remarks, Ian Critchley, the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s lead for child safety and abuse investigations, told the Mail that the metaverse provides a “gateway” for predators to prey on youngsters.
