Criminal Liability for Child Grooming in the Indonesian Criminal Law System: Normative Gaps and the Need for Harmonization

Abstract

This article examines criminal liability for in-person and technology-mediated child grooming under Indonesian criminal law following the implementation of the 2023 Criminal Code in January 2026. Using normative legal research with statutory, conceptual, and case approaches, it compares the elements of offences under the Child Protection Law, the Sexual Violence Crimes Law, the Pornography Law, the Electronic Information and Transactions framework, and the Criminal Code. The study finds that certain forms of solicitation, electronic sexual stalking, and involvement of children in pornography can already fall within existing offences; therefore, it is inaccurate to classify every preparatory stage of grooming as a legal vacuum. The narrower problem is the absence of a precisely defined, autonomous offence addressing a targeted, sexually motivated pattern of manipulation when no existing offence is established. Selected judicial decisions illuminate the treatment of power imbalance and purported child consent without proving that courts already criminalize the entire grooming process. The article proposes a carefully delimited conduct-based offence, requiring specific sexual intent, objectively demonstrable conduct, and rigorous evidentiary safeguards to avoid penalizing ordinary social interaction.