Commentary on the first case of soliciting prostitution with a minor being sentenced for rape: Three major misunderstandings in the dispute between the crime of soliciting prostitution with a minor and the crime of rape
Two men in Qionglai had sexual relations with a 13-year-old girl introduced by an organizer of prostitution. One year ago, the Qionglai People’s Court prosecuted this case of whoring with an underage girl as rape for the first time in China, drawing nationwide attention. Yesterday, a Chengdu Business Daily reporter learned exclusively that after a year of trial, the Qionglai People’s Court has issued a verdict, for the first time in China sentencing two clients who whored with an underage girl on the charge of rape, with heavier penalties, each receiving a fixed-term imprisonment of five years. The Qionglai People’s Court’s ruling precisely echoes the Supreme People’s Court’s statement at the end of 2013 fully endorsing the abolition of the crime of whoring with an underage girl, and is also consistent with the long-standing calls from judicial and academic circles for the abolition of that crime.
Yang, a man in his early forties from Qionglai, had made money as a labor contractor in recent years. In July 2013, Yang asked Gong to arrange a young girl for him to “have fun” with, and took a fancy to one of them, Xiaolan (a pseudonym). Yang then took Xiaolan to a budget hotel in Qionglai, where they had sexual relations. Afterwards, Yang gave Xiaolan 800 yuan. Xiaolan recalled that on July 18, 2013, her classmate Xiaohui (a pseudonym) had found a job in the city and asked her to work together. That afternoon, Xiaolan met Yang. She saw Xiaohui go out to “serve clients” and only then realized it was prostitution. Xiaolan told the police that Yang had promised to buy her new clothes and new shoes once she earned money, and that “whatever he told me to do, I did.” Sure enough, after Xiaolan's first time sleeping with a client, Yang bought her a new outfit. Xiaolan told them she was only 13 years old.
After Yang Qing and Yang Zhong were apprehended, the Qionglai procuratorate approved their arrest on charges of engaging in prostitution with a minor girl. During the prosecution phase of this case, the Supreme People's Court publicly stated its full support for abolishing the crime of engaging in prostitution with a minor girl. Considering the circumstances of the case, the presiding prosecutor determined that Yang Qing and Yang Zhong, knowing that Xiaolan was under 14 years old, still had sexual relations with her, which better fit the elements of the crime of rape, and thus filed charges of rape. One year later, the Qionglai Court ruled that Yang Qing and Yang Zhong, knowing the victim was a girl under 14, still had sexual relations with her, constituting rape, and imposed a heavier penalty. Taking into account factors such as voluntary confession and obtaining the victim's forgiveness, on February 2 of this year, the Qionglai Court announced its first-instance judgment: Gong Moumou and Yang Mou were both convicted of organizing prostitution and sentenced to 7 and 6 years in prison, respectively; Yang Qing and Yang Zhong were convicted of rape and each sentenced to 5 years in prison.
(Chengdu Business Daily)
Three Major Misunderstandings in the Debate Between the Crime of Whoring with a Minor and the Crime of Rape
The debate between the crime of whoring with a minor and the crime of rape has persisted for years. Yesterday, a reporter from Chengdu Business Daily interviewed Ye Rui, an assistant researcher and doctor of law at the Institute of Law, Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences, who pointed out three major public misconceptions from a professional perspective.
I'm ready to help translate your Chinese legal content into professional English for the Shenzhen Zhiming Law Firm website. Please provide the Chinese text you'd like me to translate.First, the two crimes are not simply a matter of which is lighter or heavier.
Under Chinese criminal law, the crime of prostituting oneself with a girl under the age of 14 carries a statutory penalty of 5 to 15 years of fixed-term imprisonment, with a maximum of 15 years, and the subject of the crime is a natural person aged 16 or above with criminal responsibility. In contrast, rape treats sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 14 as a statutory aggravating circumstance, with a maximum penalty of death, and a person aged 14 or above may also constitute this crime.
In the Qionglai case, Yang Mouqing and Yang Mouzhong were convicted of rape and sentenced to five years in prison. If the circumstances of a rape crime are minor, a sentence of three years may also be imposed, whereas the crime of whoring with a girl under the age of 14 carries a minimum sentence of more than five years. Therefore, it cannot simply be said that the crime of whoring with a girl under the age of 14 is necessarily lighter.
I'm ready to help translate your Chinese legal content into professional English for the Shenzhen Zhiming Law Firm website. Please provide the Chinese text you'd like me to translate.Second, why the public generally believes the crime of whoring with a minor is lighter
Ye Rui believes that the main reason lies in the fact that the maximum penalty for soliciting prostitution with a minor is 15 years, while the maximum penalty for rape is death. Moreover, in recent years, there have been several major and heinous cases involving the solicitation of prostitution with multiple minor girls, such as the Xishui case in Guizhou. Constrained by the sentencing limits of the crime of soliciting prostitution with a minor, it has been impossible to severely punish suspects in such major cases, leading people to believe that the crime of soliciting prostitution with a minor carries too light a penalty.
Third, the crime of patronizing child prostitutes overlooks the identity of criminal victims.
The fundamental difference between the two crimes lies in the fact that the crime of whoring with a minor girl neglects the identity of the victim in such criminal cases of sexual assault against minor girls. If the crime of whoring with a minor girl is applied, it would indirectly recognize the minor girl as a prostitute, implicitly categorizing minor girls into those who engage in prostitution and those who do not, which undoubtedly constitutes secondary harm to the victimized minor girl. This contradicts the legislative spirit of the Criminal Law to protect minor girls and does not conform to the “best interests of the child” principle established by the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
