ANALYSIS OF THE COMPOSITION OF A CRIMINAL OFFENSE ACCORDING TO ART. 156-1 OF THE CRIMINAL CODE OF UKRAINE

Abstract

The article analyzes the implementation into the current legislation of Ukraine of the provisions of the Lanzarote Convention on the Protection of Children, ratified in 2012. The biggest changes took place in the section of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – «Criminal offenses against sexual freedom and sexual integrity of a person.» The Criminal Code of Ukraine was supplemented by Article 156-1, which establishes responsibility for molesting a child for sexual purposes, i.e. «grooming» – establishing a trusting relationship with a child (including on the Internet) for the purpose of sexual violence against him. Sexual freedom and integrity are among the most important personal rights of the child. It is regulated by the Basic Law of our state, and it is not for nothing that the legislator placed this object of encroachment in the first sections of the Criminal Code of Ukraine after such things as the foundations of national security, life and health, will, honor and dignity of the person. Violation of these rights reflected in the mental state of the victim, has a direct impact on the child’s health and normal life. The characterization of criminal liability for molesting a child for sexual purposes and the analysis of the composition of the criminal offense were carried out. The concepts of «meeting» and «child pornography», which are provided for in the disposition of the article, are considered. It is important to note that the given category of crimes is characterized by a high level of latency and requires high professionalism both from representatives of law enforcement agencies (detection and response) and from other specialists who participate in pre-trial investigations with the aim of bringing persons to justice for committing criminal offenses related to sexual violence against children. Innovations are extremely relevant, because children spend more and more time on the Internet (studying, searching for interesting information or new friends, etc.) and danger can be caught by surprise, since strangers who establish friendly relations with children are not always who they pretend to be.