16-year-old's virtual avatar gang-raped in metaverse, UK police begins probe

Though the investigation has faced backlash as many have questioned if the police should spend their limited time and resources in probing metaverse crimes when in-person rape cases are piling up, Home Secretary James Cleverly has sided with the investigation.

The UK police has initiated an investigation into the alleged gang-rape of a 16-year-old girl’s avatar in a virtual reality game.

As per a report in the New York Post, the teenager was immersed in the game wearing a VR headset when her animated representation was gang-raped in the metaverse.

Despite no physical injuries, the girl may have suffered trauma similar to someone who has experienced sexual abuse in real life, the publication quoted a police source as saying.

“There is an emotional and psychological impact on the victim that is longer-term than any physical injuries,” the source said.

However, the UK authorities reportedly fear that the existing laws surrounding sexual assault that define it as 'physical touching' in a sexual manner without consent will make it “impossible” to prosecute the case.

While the investigation faced backlash by many who have questioned if the police should spend their limited time and resources in probing metaverse crimes when in-person rape cases are piling up, Home Secretary James Cleverly sided with the investigation.

“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,” Cleverly told LBC.

Pointing out that the victim is a child who has gone through sexual trauma, the senior politician stated, “It will have had a very significant psychological effect and we should be very, very careful about being dismissive of this.” Cleverly added that someone who rapes a video game avatar of a minor may as well “do terrible things in the physical realm.”

This is not the first report of rape in metaverse. Last year, a 21-year-old girl was sexually assaulted and harassed hours after entering the metaverse, as per a report in Wion.

A police investigator told Daily Mail that metaverse has become “rife” with such crimes.