A Study on Adult‘s fear of Cyber ​​Sex Crimes: Focusing on the Relationship between Perceptions of Punishment Criminal Psychology

As the cyber world, such as the surrealism-oriented metaverse, is approaching, you will have a new experience that is different from before. On the contrary, this means that crimes like real life will be done as if they are real in cyberspace. Furthermore, it also means that cyber crimes that transcend crimes in the real world can occur by reflecting the characteristics of online. The degree of fear of crime can vary depending on the type of fear of crime. Real crimes can be stopped through punishment, but cyber crimes are difficult to punish depending on their methods and characteristics. Therefore, the perception of punishment that individuals have can directly affect their fear of crime. The resolution of crimes such as cybersex crimes is not initiated by criminal justice agencies, but rather by reports from victims or witnesses, and these reports are determined by various factors. Assuming that the actions of victims or witnesses are not rational, and that psychological mechanisms work, it is necessary to conduct research that reflects the characteristics of cyberspace. Therefore, this study investigates the perception of celerity, severity, and certainty, which are the 3 key elements of criminal justice authorities' punishment for cyber sex crimes, and considers the fear of cyber sex crimes through the frame of these three levels of awareness based on the theoretical background. Psychological fear of perceived crime was measured. In this study, the subjects, methods, and main analysis results showed that only the severity of punishment among the perceptions of punishment predicted cyber sex crime fear. Therefore, this study suggests a plan to lower the fear of cyber sex crimes through strict punishment by strengthening the sentencing judgment for cyber sex crimes based on the research results.