UK police begin first-ever investigation into sexual assault in the metaverse

UK police are investigating the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl in a VR metaverse, in what seems like the first criminal investigation of its kind. The chair of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, Donna Jones, told the BBC that the complaint was made in 2023 and the inquiry is ongoing.

The news was first reported by the Daily Mail, which says the victim is a girl under the age of 16. The girl was using a headset when she was allegedly assaulted by multiple strangers, who approached her avatar and began touching it with their own avatars. The original report does not name the platform involved as Meta’s Horizon Worlds, though it does include a statement from Meta: