| Abstract [eng] |
This Master's thesis analyzes the mechanism of criminal liability for sexual molestation of a person under the age of 16 and its practical application in the practice of Lithuanian and foreign courts. The main aim of the Master's thesis is to analyse the criminal liability for sexual molestation of a person under the age of 16 and to present possibilities for improving its regulation on the basis of criminal law science, case law, national and foreign legislation. The work examines the development of criminal liability for the defilement of a person under the age of 16 and the experience of foreign legislation in this area, analyses actus reus and mens rea of composition of Article 153 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania, which help to distinguish this crime from other criminal offences, assesses the penalties imposed for the sexual molestation of a person under the age of 16 and the problems of their practical application. The analysis of literature and court practice allows us to state that foreign countries have a narrower understanding of sexual molestation than Lithuania, according to which sexual molestation includes both physical and intellectual molestation. Taking into account the fact that acts of intellectual defilement are less dangerous in terms of their impact on the psychological and physical development of a person than acts of physical defilement involving the exposure of the victim, the touching, fondling, kissing, the involvement of a person under the age of 16 in the performance of acts of a sexual nature between oneself and another person etc., it would be appropriate for the Lithuanian legislator to consider the separation of acts of physical defilement from acts of intellectual defilement. The Master's thesis reveals the concept of acts of sexual molestation and the problem of the practical application of criminal liability for sexual molestation of a person under 16 years of age and possible ways of solving it. |
