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The number of juvenile delinquency cases accepted for prosecution across China increased at a slower pace in 2024, a latest white paper released by China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) shows. 

According to the 2024 white paper on juvenile prosecution work released on Monday by SPP, the procuratorial authorities nationwide accepted the review of 101,526 juvenile delinquency suspects for prosecution, and filed public prosecutions against 56,877 of them, representing year-on-year increases of 4.3 percent and 46 percent respectively, Chinanews.com reported. 

Meanwhile, the procuratorial authorities accepted 65,198 juvenile delinquency suspects for arrest review in 2024, a year-on-year decrease of 1.1 percent. Among them, 34,329 were approved for arrest, an increase of 27.8 percent year-on-year. 

During this period, procuratorial authorities accepted 9,317 juvenile delinquency suspects aged 14 to 16 for prosecution review, declining 7.4 percent year-on-year.

According to the white paper, among the cases handled by procuratorial authorities, five types of offenses including theft, fraud, gang fighting, rape and robbery accounted for 69.4 percent of all juvenile delinquency cases accepted for prosecution review. 

Meanwhile, three typical cases were attached and highlighted in the white paper including the December 30, 2024 sentencing in a case approved by the SPP, the main perpetrator of a student murder case in Handan, North China’s Hebei Province, to life imprisonment – the highest penalty legally permitted, for intentional homicide, and also stripped Zhang of political rights for life. 

Zhang murdered his classmate and buried the victim’s body in a vegetable greenhouse with two other minor defendants. One identified surnamed Li, who committed the crime together with Zhang, was given a 12-year imprisonment sentence for the same charge, while the other surnamed Ma was ordered to receive special rehabilitation instead of criminal punishment because he did not directly commit the crime. 

On the other hand, the SPP has maintained a “zero-tolerance” stance and strictly punished crimes against minors in accordance with the law. In collaboration with relevant departments, it has endeavored to improve the “one-stop” case handling and assistance mechanism for sexual abuse of minors, and has strengthened care and support for minor victims. 

The white paper shows that in 2024, procuratorial authorities approved the arrest of 57,156 individuals for crimes against minors, a year-on-year increase of 7.3 percent, and filed public prosecutions against 74,476 individuals, an increase of 11 percent on the previous year. 

Six types of crimes including rape, molestation of children, robbery, picking quarrels and provoking troubles, indecent assault and insult, together accounted for 67 percent of all prosecutions for crimes against minors. 

Among the five types of crimes, rape ranked first, accounting for 34.3 percent. It was followed by child molestation, which accounted for 15.6 percent. The two offenses altogether made up nearly 50 percent of the total. 

In another case detailed by the SPP, a child molester surnamed Wang who was first indicted by the procuratorial authorities in 2014, ultimately received a revised verdict from not guilty to eight-year imprisonment in 2024 after a decade-long effort by procuratorates at four administrative levels. 

The case occurred in 2013 when the minor victim surnamed Wei revealed during a dispute with her family members that she had been abused by her stepfather surnamed Wang. After the procuratorate organ filed a public prosecution, the court acquitted Wang on the grounds of insufficient evidence in the beginning. 

In July 2024, the judicial organ overturned the original rulings and sentenced Wang to eight years of imprisonment. 

It is noteworthy that crimes committed by adults against minors via telecom networks are rising rapidly. In 2024, procuratorial authorities prosecuted 3,347 adults for using telecom networks to commit crimes against minors, a year-on-year increase of 14.1 percent. 

In response, procuratorial authorities have assisted in protecting minors’ lawful rights and interests through legal consultation and guidance, urging guardians to fulfill their responsibilities, and providing civil support for litigation. At the same time, the authorities have cooperated in rectification of the online environment for minors and to hold online platforms accountable for their responsibilities. 

Global Times