Sex Dolls: Misappropriation Of Child Likenesses

This week we discuss the topic of sex dolls following the American headline “Mom Fights to Ban Child Sex Dolls After Daughter's Likeness Was Used for One”

A mother reached out to news producers in America after she discovered her 8-year-old daughter's likeness was used for a sex doll face that went up for sale on internet sites  including popular site Amazon.

In a statement, an Amazon spokesperson said, “All sellers must follow our selling guidelines and those who do not will be subject to action including potential removal of their account. This product has been removed.”

The sex doll which very closely resembled her child was being sold as a high-quality sex doll.  Despite Amazon removing the advert, this doll remained on a number of other sites. The same doll appears naked on another website, which NBC 6 verified.

The mother is now campaigning for a ban on child sex dolls. Currently in America, child sex dolls are only banned in Florida and two other states but advocates and victims say much more needs to be done to expose this secret.

Research by NBC 6 showed similar child sex dolls on other popular sites

Carly Yoost, the CEO of Child Rescue Coalition said “This is a real child who's been affected, this isn't a hypothetical doll that was created. This is something made out of someone’s own likeness and took images from this mother."

Yoost said “The more a predator consumes online images and video of children being abused and purchasing of dolls that act out their sexual fantasies, the more likely they're going be a hands-on abuser of a real kid,"

The Child Rescue Coalition has started an online petition to make them illegal in the United States. 

With the ease of imports now, it is likely that the same type of dolls are being imported into the UK. This raises important concerns as Yoost voiced whether this is not only increasing child pornography but also sexual assaults on minors.

In the United Kingdom, former solider Richard Turner was found with a ‘child-like’ prosthetic sex doll when his house was raided before being jailed for almost ten years for a string of sex offences against children. Teesside Crown Court heard how Turner had a vast collections of child abuse images stored on a number of computers and digital devices, as well as carrying out sexual assaults on three young girls while taking indecent photographs of them.

We encourage anyone who has concerns about sexual abuse to get in touch. You can contact Alan Collins at Alan.collins@hughjames.com or Danielle Vincent at  Danielle.vincent@hughjames.com