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.

The impact of the attack on the girl's avatar was said to be heightened because of the immersive nature of the VR experience.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] -3 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (7 children)

You're thinking of battery

Downvoted for being right. Reddit 2.0

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 7 child comments
  • [–] 8 points 2 years ago (6 children)
  • [–] -2 points 2 years ago (5 children)

    nope

    https://vindicatelaw.com/assault-vs-battery-are-they-the-same-or-different-crimes/

    The legal definition of assault is an intentional act that gives another person reasonable fear that they’ll be physically harmed or offensively touched.

    No physical contact or injury has to actually occur, but the accused person must have intentionally acted in a way to cause that fear.

    https://www.findlaw.com/criminal/criminal-charges/assault-and-battery-overview.html

    https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/assault_and_battery

    Assault refers to the wrong act of causing someone to reasonably fear imminent harm. This means that the fear must be something a reasonable person would foresee as threatening to them. Battery refers to the actual wrong act of physically harming someone

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 5 child comments
  • [–] 8 points 2 years ago (4 children)

    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.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
  • [–] -5 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    And one of them says.

    Five key things to know about California’s sexual battery laws are:

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    The one that also tells you California uses the terms interchangeably?

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] -5 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Yep.

    But that still doesn't change the way the legal systems views the terms assault and battery

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 7 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

    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.

  • source
  • parent