Just because he didn't blow the "investigation whistle", the hotel owner sat in the dock

　　Prosecutors support minors who have been sexually assaulted to file a lawsuit for mental damage compensation

　　Shen Jingfang Wei Wei

　　Recently, a civil tort case involving the privacy of minors was heard in private in a county court in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Wang Hua (pseudonym), the operator of a hotel in the jurisdiction, sat on the defendant's seat, and Xiaolei's (pseudonym)'s mother sat on the plaintiff's seat.

Different from ordinary civil lawsuits, this time, the plaintiff was sitting next to the plaintiff who supported the prosecutor, the unexamined prosecutor who handled the case of Xiaolei's sexual assault.

　　Two years after the procuratorial recommendation was issued, the sexual assault case happened again

　　In November 2021, the uninspected prosecutor of a county procuratorate in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region was keenly aware during the process of participating in the "one-stop" questioning of a sexually assaulted minor by the public security organs that the case may be that hotel practitioners have not implemented the case. In the case of the compulsory reporting system for cases of violation of minors, the investigative organs were guided to fix and collect relevant evidence as soon as possible.

　　After investigation, when Xiaolei, who was under the age of 14, and the criminal suspect, Aye (pseudonym), checked into the hotel run by Wang Hua, facing Xiaolei, who was thin and apparently underage, the front desk clerk neither verified or registered Xiaolei's identity. Identity information, the relationship between the two and the legitimacy of the stay were not inquired, nor were they confirmed to Xiaolei's guardian and recorded for future reference.

After checking in, Xiaolei was violated in the room.

　　Not long ago, during the private trial of the case, the procuratorial organ issued a public prosecution opinion to severely punish the defendant in accordance with the law, and put forward suggestions for determining the sentence based on the subjective viciousness, harmful consequences, and the criminal circumstances of the defendant committing other sexual assaults. .

After trial, the court adopted the procuratorial organ's sentencing recommendation and sentenced the defendant Ah Yee to seven years in prison.

　　It is worth noting that as early as 2019, a county procuratorate announced to the public security organ that it had served a procuratorial proposal on strengthening the registration of minors in hotels.

Through continuous follow-up and return visits, the rigid role of procuratorial recommendations has become increasingly apparent.

However, after a lapse of two years, the case of minors being violated due to the failure of the compulsory reporting obligor to fulfill the compulsory reporting obligation happened again, which made the unexamined prosecutor deeply distressed.

　　The victim asked for compensation for mental damage, and the procuratorate supported the prosecution

　　Although the criminal case has been settled, the rights protection work continues.

Young Xiaolei was not only physically violated, but also suffered huge mental damage. How should she claim for the mental damage she suffered?

According to relevant judicial interpretations, criminal incidental civil lawsuits are only aimed at material losses caused by criminal acts. “People’s courts will not accept incidental civil lawsuits or separate civil lawsuits to claim compensation for mental losses due to criminal violations.”

　　So, will Xiaolei's mental loss not be compensated?

In this regard, after obtaining the consent of Xiaolei and her mother and confirming that they have the will to defend their rights, the prosecutors decided to support the victim in filing a lawsuit against the hotel involved in the case in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Civil Code and the newly revised Minor Protection Law, seeking spiritual penalty for damages.

"We hope that in this way, practitioners in the industry who have close contact with minors in the society will truly become plainclothes investigation 'sentinels' for the protection of minors," said the undertaker prosecutor.

　　After thorough discussion and deliberation, the county's procuratorate led the court and the Judicial Bureau to sign the "Measures for Cooperation in Handling Cases Involving Minors Supporting Prosecutions", which included the handling principles, the scope of accepting cases, the responsibilities of all parties, the cooperation process, and mechanism construction, etc. 5 Make clear provisions in each aspect, and apply the principle of being most beneficial to minors throughout all stages of supporting prosecution, and promote the formation of a joint force for safeguarding the rights of minors in civil tort cases.

　　After the victim filed an application, a county procuratorate decided to initiate a pro-prosecution procedure.

The unexamined prosecutor notified the county legal aid center as a supporter of the prosecutor, appointed a female lawyer as Xiaolei's attorney ad litem, and handed over the collected evidence to the legal aid lawyer.

At the same time, the court submitted a supporting indictment to the court in accordance with the law.

With the establishment of the linkage mechanism, the case entered the fast track, the court accepted the case on the same day, and transferred it to the undertaking judge on the same day. The unexamined prosecutor received the court's opening notice on the same day. sky.

　　Since the facts of the case are clear and the relationship between rights and obligations is clear, the prosecutor took the initiative to carry out the reconciliation work of the parties in the process of supporting the prosecution. Through interpretation and reasoning, he urged Wang Hua to realize the illegality of his actions, and promoted the formation of reconciliation intentions between the plaintiff and the defendant, making the dispute be substantially resolved.

　　After a private trial, the two parties reached a settlement. The court made a civil mediation letter in court, and the hotel involved in the case compensated Xiaolei for 10,000 yuan of spiritual comfort money.

Wang Hua paid compensation to Xiaolei's mother in court and apologized.

　　Urge relevant departments to impose administrative penalties on the hotels involved

　　However, the accountability for the hotel is not over yet.

Hotels that fail to perform their mandatory reporting obligations face not only compensation for infringement damages to minor victims, but also administrative penalties.

A county procuratorate issued a procuratorial suggestion to the county public security bureau in accordance with the law, suggesting that the punishment of the hotel involved should be increased, and the publicity of the law to the hotel business practitioners, especially the study and training of the mandatory reporting system.

The public security organ imposed administrative penalties on the hotel involved in order to suspend business for rectification and fines.

At present, the county is carrying out a new round of special inspections on the registration of minors staying in hotels.

　　"I never thought that I would be in the dock one day. Only then did I understand that mandatory reporting is also a legal system, which must be strictly followed in the future." Wang Hua said earnestly in court.

　　"A case is worth a dozen documents." Only when the mandatory reporting system takes root can it become a powerful tool for protecting minors.

In the past, there were no specific legal provisions for accountability of compulsory reporting obligors who did not hold public positions, and the punishment was not strong enough to make the system "grow teeth".

In this case, while prosecuting the infringer's criminal responsibility according to the law, innovatively supporting the infringed minor to file a lawsuit for mental damage compensation has a warning significance for urging mandatory reporting obligors such as hotels to better implement the mandatory reporting system.

　　"It is the responsibility of the procuratorial organ to initiate civil support prosecution in accordance with the law. As an undocumented prosecutor, it is the responsibility to make the compulsory reporting system truly revitalize through active performance of duties." said the prosecutor handling the case.

　　"You have the right to request the court to make compensation for mental damage from the person who fails to perform the compulsory reporting obligation for the mental damage suffered by the criminal act. If the procuratorial organ is required to provide support, the procuratorial organ will promptly initiate the investigation procedure and decide whether to do so within 3 working days. Support." After the case was settled, a county procuratorate made a special system regulation, requiring that the above content should be added to the notice of rights and obligations served on the minor victims and their legal representatives when handling such cases in the future. .