New Delhi, May 20: Police arrested an 81-year-old painter from Noida for the alleged ‘digital rape’ of a 17-year-old girl for over seven years. The painter who has been arrested has been identified as Maurice Ryder. It is alleged that the sexual harassment of the victim started when she was 10 years old and kept on raping her digitally till the accused was arrested.

At present the matter is being investigated.

What is Digital Rape?

Many people assume that the term ‘digital rape’ is related to defacing someone’s identity on the digital platform. However, the term literally means forcibly inserting fingers or toes inside the other person’s private parts without consent. In the English dictionary, the finger, thumb and toe are addressed as ‘digit’ and hence the act has been named as ‘digital rape’. Noida Shocker: 80-Year-Old Artist Arrested For ‘Digitally Raping’ Minor Over 7 Years

'Digital rape' was considered as molestation until December 2012 and did not fall under the ambit of rape. It was after the horrific Nirbhaya gang-rape incident in 2012 that new rape laws were passed in the parliament and the act was classified as sexual offence. Pune Shocker: 14-Year-Old Boy Rapes Woman With Special Needs in Pimpri Chinchwad; Held

Punishment For Digital Rape

70 per cent of the cases of digital rape is committed by someone who is close to the victim. However, very few offences are registered. This is because most people aren’t aware about the laws of rape and the term ‘digital rape’. As per law, the offender can be sentenced at least five years in jail. In certain cases, this punishment may go on till 10 years or even imply life imprisonment in some cases.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 20, 2022 12:51 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).