Lithuanian pornography cases: who watches and why they face criminal liability for it



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Mindaugas Ražanskas, vice president of the Vilnius City District Court, and associate professor of forensic psychologists, adjunct professor at the Institute of Psychology at the Vilnius University Faculty of Philosophy discusses all this. Dr. Ilona Laurinaitytė.

Pornography cases are on the rise

According to M. Ražanskas, there has been a recent growth trend in cases of possession and distribution of pornographic content: “If in 2015 or 2016 the Lithuanian courts examined approximately 30 cases per year, in recent years we see that three times more cases reach The courts. “

The judge pointed out that pornography is not all visual material that shows nudity.

“The open and detailed description of the genitalia, the sexual relations and the demonstration itself is the main purpose of the material in the pornographic content,” said the judge, citing the Public Information Act. He emphasized that such self-interest material should be distinguished from cases where the naked human body is displayed, represented through an art form or for artistic purposes.

Both M. Ražanskas and I. Laurinaitytė drew another line of distinction between adult and child pornography.

“Criminal law establishes responsibility for possession of adult pornography only if the person intends to distribute it, engages in its distribution: if adult pornography is only considered, viewed but not distributed, then that behavior is not illegal, “said the judge. . “If children under the age of 18 are portrayed, the mere acquisition and possession of such material or online access to such material is, for example, a crime on a computer.”

If problems are suspected, help should be sought.

According to I. Laurinaitytė, out of sexual interest or arousal, when viewing adult pornography, adults should not feel uncomfortable, suspect addiction, or criminalize their behavior.

“As long as that interest is not too frequent, it does not destroy relationships with the other party, other people, as long as it does not interfere with daily activities, it is not worth looking for problems,” said the associate professor.

She described the extremely frequent viewing of pornography, which interferes with daily activities, as a compulsive urge (irresistible, compulsive urge to do something and inability to give up obsessive desires – past self). Pointing out psychological problems.

Ilona Laurinaitytė

Ilona Laurinaitytė

© TEISMAI.LT

“If a person understands that they have a problem, they should seek professional help,” said I. Laurinaitytė. “If a person next to you, a partner or a loved one, notices a problem and wants to help them, they should talk to them and encourage someone they love to seek help.”

The associate professor mentioned that there are many and diverse reasons that encourage people to observe the nudity of children: “Obviously, there are problem areas in the lives of these people that must be consulted with specialists – psychologists, psychotherapists and in some cases – doctors “. “

The Internet should be used with caution and educate the public

Both interlocutors pointed out that information technology is available to everyone these days, so sharing pornographic content is very common.

“Sometimes not out of ill will, but sometimes out of revenge, blackmail, those images travel on mobile apps or emails,” Ražanskas said. – Let’s say two young people get angry, try to hurt or get revenge on each other and start threatening to publish this type of material. Sometimes a person submits photos or videos of their naked body and then justifies the joke, but such behavior is already considered distribution and criminal liability. “

The judge cautioned to be careful when using file-sharing platforms, because the owners of such programs downloaded pornography onto their computers (or other devices), give other users access to their data without additional warnings, and become distributors themselves. , which is then penalized.

Judge Mindaugas Ražanskas

Judge Mindaugas Ražanskas

© DELFI / Domantas Pipas

While agreeing with M. Ražanska, I. Laurinaitytė admitted that sometimes watching child pornography can be really unintentional.

“Someone sends, a friend invites to see and in that case a person unwittingly becomes a criminal,” said the associate professor. “I think we should educate the public, speak more and more openly about the behavior of online stocks and people’s personal problems.”

The assistant professor added that many times minors and children themselves inadvertently become distributors of illegal pornography, so, in her opinion, more than one state institution should take action, implement sexual education initiatives, inform parents how they should behave, how and at what age. talk about these child crimes and their prevention.

“There is a trend in the world that more and more porn users are only 10 years old,” said I. Laurinaitytė as a global problem. – In Lithuania, the topics of sex and sex are still taboo, so parents do not know or dare to talk with their children about information of sexual content both in general on the Internet and in communication with other people, especially strangers. Unfortunately, parents then have to deal with the consequences of the lack of sex education, one of which is the possession and distribution of pornography, correspondence between minors by sending nudity images, etc. ”.

“Unintentional” surveillance of children’s nudity ends in criminal liability

According to M. Ražansko, about 70 percent. all the pornography files consist precisely of cases of possession of child nudity. He warned that Lithuanian police follow sources of child pornography, cooperate with foreign institutions, therefore careless clicking to “download” or “view” child pornography, ignoring the warning that appears on the screen ends in criminal liability.

“Even if you accidentally visit a child pornography site and receive a warning or ban on accessing it, warning that the site contains illegal content, please close the page immediately and do not try to continue browsing, as this is likely to have sad consequences.” . advised the judge.

As an aggravating factor in child pornography cases, the judge also highlighted the number of child pornography files found on the defendant’s computers: “If the footage contains a minor under 14 years of age, the case evaluates dozens of visual documents. Deleting a large number of those files can result in a five-year prison term. “

I. Laurinaitytė noted that nowadays traditional pornography (magazines, videos on cassettes, etc.), for which you have to pay, has lost its relevance, in addition, it has been easier to regulate, therefore, the offer, the user access capacity. Illegal sites and services free of charge.

“Even if a person claims to have inadvertently downloaded child pornography, to have accidentally entered a certain illegal pornography channel, the fact that he has ignored the warning already shows a certain willingness to do what he described as an unintentional act,” said the judge . The associate professor also issued the warning.

Recognizes punishments and does not want to talk about crimes

M. Ražanskas stated that in cases of distribution of pornographic content (for both adults and children), the accused are punished and the penalties vary from fines to actual imprisonment (from 1 to 5 years).

Lithuanian pornography cases: who watches and why they face criminal responsibility for it

“Some say it was interesting, others say the children’s nudity was accidentally downloaded attached to adult pornography, and still others avoid talking about the findings on their computers, but no similar testimony protects them from liability,” the judge said of the accused. excuses. He noted that many of the children charged in child pornography cases are men, often with children, and that house searches cause inconvenience to members of their family.

“Imagine an unsuspecting wife and children who see police officers in their homes: the family has many questions about who and what came, what they are looking for, what is happening. Both the accused and the family members feel uncomfortable, – M. Ražanskas alluded to the subtleties of the cases and mentioned them as the reasons why pornography cases do not usually reach the higher courts. “People just don’t want to talk about it, they just agree with the rulings, they don’t appeal the decisions and they want to forget everything faster.”

I. Laurinaitytė noted that law enforcement institutions should take into account not only legal but also psychological aspects when preventing pornographic crimes. “The other half, when they learn of their spouse’s desire for child pornography, are almost always in shock, and the children do not understand anything and must protect themselves from inappropriate information that could affect their lives,” said the associate professor.

Both interlocutors agreed that on the Internet, as in real life, caution must be exercised, the law must be observed, their behavior must be critically evaluated and they must not remain indifferent to the presence of pornography.

If you observe any crime related to child pornography, your possession, distribution or distribution of adult pornography, please report it immediately to the police on the website. www.epolicija.lt or by email [email protected].



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