Man detained after exposing himself to a 12-year-old girl
A 37-year-old man exposed himself to a 12-year-old girl beside the toilets in a Shenzhen shopping centre on 28 August 2019; her father called the police and officers arrested him the same day. The centre's manager said it was not his first offence. Exposure is ordinarily an offence against public order punishable by detention, but exposing oneself to a child under 14 may amount to indecent assault on a child, and he has been detained on that suspicion. The girl has since been afraid to use the toilet alone.
On 12 November 2019 The Paper carried a report on Weibo under the heading "Man exposes himself and frightens a girl, detained: held in custody and to be prosecuted for indecent assault on a child". Mr Wang, who lives in Pingdi, Longgang, Shenzhen, said that his 12-year-old daughter had come across a strange man exposing himself beside the toilets in a shopping centre. Mr Wang called the police at once and officers arrested the man that day. The manager of the centre said that the man had done this before. Mr Wang said that his wife had received a message from a lawyer named Chen, who said he had been instructed by the wife of the suspect, Zhang, to see whether financial compensation might express sincerity and obtain the understanding of the victim and her family. The lawyer said that the suspect worked at a building site in Shenzhen, that his wife and children lived in his home town, that both children there were minors, and that being arrested this time would affect the family greatly. The suspect, Zhang, has been detained in accordance with law on suspicion of indecent assault on a child. The case is now with the procuratorate for review and prosecution.
The incident occurred on 28 August. Although the officers arrested the 37-year-old suspect, Zhang, on the spot that day, the girl was left with a considerable psychological shadow. Her father said that since the incident she has not dared to use the toilet on her own, and that he hopes the suspect will be severely punished.
A man exposing himself is what is commonly called exhibitionism, a sexual psychological disorder in which the person publicly exposes his genitals to a person of the opposite sex in an inappropriate setting in order to provoke a reaction of alarm and thereby obtain sexual pleasure and satisfaction.
Exhibitionism in the ordinary sense is not a criminal offence, but it is unlawful. Article 44 of the Law on Penalties for Administration of Public Security provides that a person who commits an indecent assault, or deliberately exposes his body in a public place in egregious circumstances, is liable to detention of not less than five days and not more than ten days, and that a person who commits an indecent assault on a person with an intellectual disability or a mental illness, or on a person under 14, or in other serious circumstances, is liable to detention of not less than ten days and not more than 15 days. So where exhibitionism is encountered, the police can be called. As to evidence, witness statements can be collected or a mobile phone used to make a recording; without evidence the penalty is delayed and the public security authorities are hampered in handling the matter.
Exposing oneself in front of a child under 14, however, may well amount to the offence of indecent assault on a child. Article 237 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, on the offence of compelled indecent assault or insult, provides that a person who by violence, coercion or other means compels another to submit to an indecent assault, or insults a woman, is liable to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years or criminal detention.
Where the offence is committed in a gathering or in public in a public place, or there are other egregious circumstances, the offender is liable to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years.
A person who commits an indecent assault on a child is punished more heavily in accordance with the preceding two paragraphs.
As a matter of criminal law doctrine, indecent assault on a child requires no element of compulsion: the act of indecent assault on a child is enough to constitute the offence. The offence can only be committed intentionally, but the actor must have no intent to have sexual intercourse, which is an important mark distinguishing it from rape.
In this case, then, the suspect Zhang has been criminally detained by the public security authorities in accordance with law on suspicion of indecent assault on a child, and criminal liability will now be pursued in accordance with the criminal procedure.
Exhibitionism is a sexual psychological disorder: those affected like to expose their genitals to strangers of the opposite sex as a way of satisfying sexual desire, and they rarely show aggression or a tendency to violence. Where it is encountered, there is no need to panic or to react strongly, since the stronger the reaction the greater their excitement and the fuller their sexual satisfaction.
People with sexual psychological problems of this kind are not uncommon in modern society, and parents should give their children proper sex education so that they learn how to respond. Where a child has unfortunately experienced such an incident, the parents' attitude is crucial: the first task in talking to the child is to calm her, then to help her out of the psychological shadow and to give her proper counselling afterwards, so that she can feel safe again.