Sexual Abuse And The Offence Of Qualified Sexual Abuse Of A Child
WHAT IS SEXUAL ABUSE OFFENCE?
The offence of sexual abuse is specified in Article 103 of the Turkish Penal Code No. 5237. Making physical contact with the child’s body and displaying sexual behaviours accordingly; is the crime of sexual abuse.
When the offence of sexual abuse of a child is evaluated in terms of age, it should be evaluated in three different age categories. The first one is children who have not yet completed the age of 15. Other is the children who have completed the age of 15 and have not yet completed the age of 18, but who are not yet able to perceive the legal meaning and consequences of the act committed against them. The third is the abuse of children between the ages of 15 and 18 by force, threat, trickery or any other situation that may affect their will.
WHAT IS THE PENALTY FOR SIMPLE SEXUAL ABUSE OF CHILDREN?
The penalties for simple sexual abuse are as follows:
According to the first sentence in Article 103 of the Turkish Penal Code; if a person sexually abuses a child, this person is punished with imprisonment from 8 to 15 years.
A.ccording to the second sentence of the same article, if a sexual abuse at the level of molestation is inflicted on a child, the person is sentenced to imprisonment from 3 to 8 years.
According to the third sentence of the article, if a child who has not completed the age of 12 is subjected to simple sexual abuse, the penalty in this case should be at least 10 years. If it remains at the level of molestation, it is not possible to impose a sentence of less than 5 years.
In the case of another child molesting a child; In order to conduct an investigation and prosecution, the complaint of the victim, his/her parent or guardian is required.
IN WHICH CASES IS THE PENALTY FOR THE OFFENCE OF SIMPLE SEXUAL ABUSE INCREASED?
The situations where the offence of simple sexual abuse requires more punishment are listed below:
If more than one person abuses a child together,
In the case of misuse of the convenience provided by environments where people have to live together collectively,
If the child has been abused by a stepmother, stepfather, stepbrother, step-sister, adopter or blood relatives up to and including the third degree,
If a person who has the obligation to protect, care for and supervise the abused person commits this offence,
In case of abuse of a child by abusing the influence provided by public office or service relationship, the penalty to be imposed on the defendant is increased by half.
WHAT IS THE PUNISHMENT IF THE SEXUAL ABUSE OF CHILDREN RESULTS IN INJURY OR DEATH?
The penalties imposed as a result of intentional injury, the victim’s vegetative state, and the death of the abused child are stated below:
According to Article 103/5 of the Turkish Penal Code, in the event that the severe consequences of the offence of intentional injury occur in the victim as a result of the force and violence used for sexual abuse, the defendant will be punished in accordance with the provisions regarding the offence of intentional injury as well as the offence of sexual abuse.
If the victim of sexual abuse is in a vegetative state or dies, the defendant shall be sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment according to Article 103/6 of the Turkish Penal Code.
WHAT IS THE OFFENCE OF QUALIFIED SEXUAL ABUSE OF A CHILD?
Qualified sexual abuse of a child is defined in Article 103/2 of the Turkish Penal Code. If the act of abuse is committed by inserting an organ or other object into the body of a child, the defendant shall be sentenced to imprisonment of not less than 16 years. If the person subjected to qualified sexual abuse is under 12 years of age, the prison sentence to be imposed by the court will not be less than 18 years.
In order for sexual abuse to be considered qualified, it is necessary to insert another object or organ into the body anally, vaginally or orally. At this point, it is not important whether the purpose is the satisfaction of sexual desire. Regardless of the purpose, if any other object or organ is inserted into the child’s body; it is considered a qualified sexual abuse offence.
WHAT ARE THE CIRCUMSTANCES THAT INCREASE THE PENALTY FOR QUALIFIED SEXUAL ABUSE OF A CHILD?
Situations that increase the penalty for those who commit qualified sexual abuse of a child are given below:
If more than one person abuses a child together,
In the case of misuse of the convenience provided by environments where people have to live together collectively,
If the child has been abused by a stepmother, stepfather, stepbrother, step-sister, adopter or blood relatives up to and including the third degree,
If a person who has the obligation to protect, care for and supervise the abused person commits this offence,
In case of abuse of a child by abusing the influence provided by public office or service relationship, the penalty to be imposed on the defendant is increased by half.
WHAT IS THE PUNISHMENT IF THE OFFENCE OF QUALIFIED SEXUAL ABUSE RESULTS IN INJURY OR DEATH?
In case of severe consequences of the offence of qualified sexual abuse; the penalties to be applied according to Article 103/4-5-6 of the TPC are specified according to the result of the abuse. Accordingly, if the offence of force and threat is committed against a child with tools such as guns, knives, sticks; in this case, the punishment to be received by the abuser increases by half.
According to Article 103/5 of the Turkish Penal Code, in the event that severe consequences of the offence of intentional injury occur in the victim as a result of the force and violence used for qualified sexual abuse, the defendant will be punished in accordance with the provisions regarding the offence of intentional injury as well as the offence of sexual abuse.
If the person who has been subjected to qualified sexual abuse enters a vegetative state or dies, the defendant shall be sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment according to Article 103/6 of the Turkish Penal Code.
IS IT POSSIBLE TO CONVERT SEXUAL ABUSE OFFENCES INTO JUDICIAL FINE, POSTPONEMENT AND DEFERMENT OF THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE VERDICT?
It is not possible to postpone or mitigate sexual abuse offences. Due to the amount of imprisonment, it is not possible to convert the offence of a person who commits a sexual abuse offence into a judicial fine. Since the offence of sexual abuse is not a crime that can produce a result within a certain period of supervision and due to the amount of the imprisonment sentence imposed, it is not possible to defer the announcement of the verdict. It is also not possible to postpone child abuse sentences.
WHAT SHOULD BE KNOWN ABOUT THE COMPLAINT PERIOD OF SEXUAL ABUSE OFFENCE?
What to know about the complaint and statute of limitations for the sexual abuse offence is as follows:
There is no reconciliation for the offence of sexual abuse. It does not matter whether it is simple or qualified sexual abuse or molestation. Reconciliation provisions are not applied.
If the crime committed is molestation, in this case, when the perpetrator is a minor, an investigation cannot be opened without the complaint of the victim’s guardian. The complaint period is 6 months. In this process, it is possible to waive the complaint even if a lawsuit has been filed.
Simple or qualified sexual abuse is not one of the offences subject to complaint.
The statute of limitations for sexual abuse offences is 15 years. It is possible to conduct investigation and prosecution within this period.
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