The technological and legal challenges of virtual crimes

Immersive technologies have become an integral part of our reality in recent years. Think of Teams backgrounds and Pokémon Go, but also other applications such as education, virtual crime scenes, and the treatment of PTSD. New technology brings new challenges. Think of the news reports regarding a virtual rape in the metaverse (Business Insider, 2022), and for which also warned in an investigation by the WODC (2021). These developments solicit more research regarding statutory offense descriptions and the fight against virtual criminal activities: Where does it start, and perhaps more importantly, where does it stop?