The Number of Minor Victims of Digital Sex Crimes Doubled in 2019

[경향신문]
The number of children and adolescents who fell victim to digital sex crimes in 2019 doubled from the previous year. Sexual offenses against children aged twelve or younger and sexual offenses committed by relatives also increased for three consecutive years.

On April 15, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family released the results of an analysis on the trend of sexual offenses against minors. The ministry analyzed the court rulings of 2,753 criminals whose personal information was registered after they were convicted of sex crimes against minors in 2019.

In 2019, 266 criminals committed digital sex crimes against minors, such as the production of sexually explicit content and the shooting of illegal videos. This is a 19.3% increase from the previous year (223). The number of children and teenagers who fell prey to such crimes was 505, a 101.2% increase from the previous year (251). The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said, “This reflects the characteristics of digital sex crimes, where a single criminal commits the crime against a multiple number of minors.”

Online spaces, such as messaging applications and social media, were the main channel for such sex crimes. Most of the minors who fell victim to sexually explicit content (80.6%) and obscene acts by using means of communication (86.9%)--which refers to the act of transmitting sexual writings or images by various means of communication--came to know the perpetrator through online chats. Information and communications networks also accounted for 90.5% and 96.7% of the pathways for buying sex and running prostitution businesses, respectively.

The average age of all sex offenders was 35.3, with 98.1% being male. A look at their occupation showed that people out of work accounted for the highest portion (29.7%). However, 65 schoolteachers and 146 instructors were also convicted of sexual offenses. In six out of ten sex crimes against minors, the victims knew their perpetrator. A review of the sentences in the final trials showed that 49.7% were suspended sentences. The percentage of suspended sentences was highest among those convicted of purchasing sex (64.5%), followed by obscene acts by using means of communication (62.5%), and indecent assault (57.2%).

Sex crimes against children aged twelve or younger continued to increase from 23.6% in 2016 to 30.8% (813 cases) in 2019. An overwhelming majority of the crimes was indecent assault (77.9%). Sex crimes by a relative accounted for 13.8% (351 cases), a 3.1% increase in the last three years. In cases where the perpetrator was a relative, the offense was repeated in 56.5% of the cases.