A 16-year-old British girl has claimed she was virtually ‘gang-raped’ in Metaverse, prompting police to launch an investigation.
Police in the UK are investigating the first case of alleged rape in a virtual reality (VR) game, with a 16-year-old girl being ‘sexually assaulted’ in the online ‘metaverse’.
The American media ‘New York Post’ has reported that the girl’s avatar (digital character) was gang-raped by strangers online, after which the 16-year-old girl is mentally disturbed.
According to the report, the young girl was wearing a virtual reality headset while playing an online digital game when she was allegedly assaulted by a group of men, although she was not physically injured.
According to US media reports, it is not clear what sport the teenager was playing at the time of the alleged crime.
On the other hand, investigating officers related to this unique case say that the 16-year-old girl has suffered emotional and psychological trauma similar to that experienced by women who have been sexually assaulted in the real world.
The case is believed to be the first ‘virtual sex’ crime for police to investigate.
Speaking to a news outlet, a senior officer related to the case has said that the girl who was the victim of virtual sexual assault has suffered psychological trauma similar to that of a person who has been physically assaulted. The victim has an emotional and psychological impact that lasts longer than any physical injury.
“This case poses many challenges for the law enforcement agencies as there is no legislation yet for this type of virtual crime,” the officer added.
How has Meta reacted to this case?
There have been numerous reports of virtual sex crimes in Horizon Worlds.
According to Facebook’s parent company Metta, the VR game powered by Metta is a free service.
A Metta spokesperson said: ‘The type of behavior described has no place on our platform, which is why we have an automatic protection for all users called personal limits that allows people you Keeps a few feet away from those you don’t know.