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Russian parliament to consider jail terms for pedophiles luring kids via Internet

Russia's State Duma is expected to consider an initiative on punishing the use of Internet by pedophiles, who lure children through an exchange of emails, by jail terms of five to twelve years

© TASS/Stanislav Krasilnikov

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MOSCOW, June 24. /TASS/. Russia's State Duma is expected to consider an initiative on punishing the use of Internet by pedophiles, who lure children through an exchange of emails, by jail terms of five to twelve years.

"Crimes of this kind involving IT and telecommunications networks are comparable to purported sexual abuse, which entails jail terms of five to twelve years," the initiator of the project, Dr. Yelena Mizulina said

She said the case in hand was the elimination of blank spots in Russia's penal legislation that does not contain grounds for sentencing the pedophiles who use IT and mobile gadgets to seduce children.

"At present, the absence of a qualifying characteristic like sexual abuse with the use of information and telecommunication networks make (this category of) criminals inaccessible for law enforcers," Mizulina said.

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