Paedophiles could be allowed to use child sex robots to live out fantasies, researchers argue

Letting paedophiles live out their perverted fantasies using sex robots might stop them harming children, researchers have controversially suggested.

Adult-sized devices could also be used by potential rapists and others interested in violent sex, under the same theory.  

Sickening child sex dolls can already be bought on some dark corners of the internet.

Although it is illegal to import a child sex doll into the UK, there is no law specifically making it an offence to own or make one. 

Importing a child sex doll/robot is illegal in the UK and several other counties, this example was seized by police in Australia

Adult sex robots are already available for around £3,000 and are capable of facial expressions and interactive conversations via AI. 

Some experts claim child versions could present a therapeutic ‘opportunity’ and that studies are needed to work out ‘preferred features’ for paedophile users. 

The team, from Czechia’s National Institute of Mental Health, presented their highly contentious idea at a leading sexual health conference in Belgium. 

They explored the idea of using sex robots among people with ‘paraphilic interests in minors’.

Paraphilic is a broad term, meaning having an ongoing abnormal sexual interest.

It includes paedophiles, voyeurs, flashers, and those who engage in violent sexual fantasy.

Two such groups were recruited online, one cohort of 48 men sexually attracted to children, another 57 with a sexual interest in ‘non-consent/violence’.

They were asked to respond to a survey on sex robot use, with the results compared to a control group of just over 800 non-paraphilic men.

The team said: ‘We expected both target groups to express a greater desire for sex robot experience.’

They added this was because ‘sex robots would enable them to express paraphilic sexuality within legal limitations’. 

Analysis revealed 18 per cent of the control group wanted to have sex with a robot. 

But the rate doubled among paedophile respondents (37.5 per cent).

Desire was also higher in the participants ‘interested in non-consent/violence’ (26 per cent). 

Presenting her team’s findings, Alena Mareckov, a psychology student at Charles University in Prague, said: ‘This indicates that individuals with paraphilic interest in minors are slightly more open to the idea of sex robots experience.

‘Studies exploring preferred features of sex robots and interest in their use in therapy are needed.’ 

She added that the study does set out to solve whether sex robots are a suitable therapeutic tool, but does show some paraphilic individuals are interested in them.

The results of the survey and the conference abstract were published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine.

Using child sex dolls/robots to treat paedophilia similar to how we use drugs to help wean addicts off heroin is not a new idea and has touted before.

Professor Noel Sharkey, an expert in AI and robotics at the University of Sheffield, said the results of the Czech survey were extremely limited. 

‘This study tells us nothing about the use of sex robots for therapeutic uses with paedophiles or potential sex offenders,’ he said. 

‘It tells us only that in the small sample, slightly more people who would like to have sex with children or have non-consensual sex would like to have sex with robots than other randomly chosen people.’

Like other experts he added that there was no basis that having a child sex robot would reduce paedophiles’ desire for the real thing.   

‘It would be a grave mistake to believe that if a paedophile has sex with a robot that it would reduce their desire to have sex with children,’ he said.

‘We already know from police reports that paedophile rings love to have children sized sex dolls either individually or in groups. But it does not change their desire for children.’