A girl was attacked in the metaverse: the police want to start an investigation into virtual rape

British police are investigating the first case of rape in the metaverse after a child was "attacked" in a virtual reality video game, reports Dailymail.

Photo: IStock

A 16-year-old girl was reportedly left in shock after her digital avatar was gang-raped by online strangers.

The victim, who was using the headset, did not suffer any injuries as there was no physical attack. But officers said she suffered the same psychological and emotional trauma as someone who is raped in the real world, as the "VR" experience is designed to feel completely real.

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It is believed to be the first time in the UK that police have investigated a virtual sex crime. A precedent for changes in the law.

Virtual reality headsets were expected to be a popular gift this Christmas, with the NSPCC estimating that 15 per cent of children aged five to ten have used them. Tech giants, led by Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, have spent billions of dollars trying to lure people—young and old—to the virtual realm of the “metaverse,” selling the chance to live a digitized, fantasy life.

The victim was in an online room with a large number of other users when the virtual attack by several adult men occurred.

Police chiefs are now calling for legislation to tackle the wave of sex crimes in the area.

They say officers' tactics must change to stop perverts using new technology to exploit children. But the landmark case has raised questions about whether police should investigate virtual crimes. Considering that police and prosecutors are currently grappling with a huge backlog of actual rape cases - and whether such an attack should be prosecuted under current laws.

On December 31, the National Police Chiefs' Council's head of child protection and abuse investigations, Ian Critchley, warned that "the metaverse opens the door for predators to commit horrific crimes against children." Details of the unusual virtual reality case are being kept secret to protect the child amid fears that prosecution will not be possible for a number of reasons.

“This child has experienced psychological trauma similar to that experienced by someone who has been physically raped. The emotional and psychological impact on the victim is more long-term than any physical injury, said one senior officer. “This creates a number of problems for law enforcement agencies, since the current legislation does not provide for this.”

Not the first time

A number of sexual assaults have previously been reported on Horizon Worlds, a free online VR game run by Facebook Meta. In Horizon Worlds, users create their own avatars—animated online representations of themselves—and then control them by wearing a virtual reality headset and associated hardware.

Nina Jane Patel, a psychotherapist who conducts metaverse research, described the "surreal nightmare" of gang rape in Horizon Venues. Association of Police and Crime Commissioners chairwoman Donna Jones said women and children deserved more protection.

“We need to update our laws because they are not keeping up with the risks of harm that are evolving from artificial intelligence and abuse on platforms,” she said. “The government needs to consider changing the law to protect women and children from harm in this virtual environment.”

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A senior police officer has revealed that sex crimes are now "common" in the metaverse. But so far there have been no prosecutions for the offense in the UK, despite police receiving reports of other potential crimes, including the theft of one avatar's prized sword.

Police believe the rise of the gaming industry has opened up new opportunities for cybercrime, including virtual robberies, ransomware, fraud and identity theft. But current legislation is unlikely to address rape in the metaverse, as sexual assault is defined in the Sexual Offenses Act as physical touching of a sexual nature on another person without their consent.

The nature of the metaverse also blurs geographic boundaries, making it difficult to determine which law enforcement agency has jurisdiction over a particular incident when users and criminals are located in different countries.

“The behavior described has no place on our platform, so for all users we have an automatic protection called a personal boundary, which keeps people you don't know meters away from you,” a Meta spokesperson said.

“The passage of the Online Safety Act plays a major role in this, and we need to see a lot more action from tech companies to make their platforms safe,” Critchley said.

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