After the complaint to YosStop, a Mexican YouTuber whose real name is Yoseline Hoffman, and her connection to the crime of child pornography, a debate was generated on social media about the justice or injustice of the event.
On one side, some of her followers consider that the 30-year-old does not deserve any punishment for having given her opinion, appealing to the Right to Free Expression; while others mention that it is correct to sentence her for her actions, questioning the lack of regulations for these opinion leaders on digital platforms.
Although interesting, these two approaches need to be analyzed on a legal basis, and it turns out that Joseline Hoffman’s actions are not only considered a crime in the Criminal Code of the Distrito Federal, Now Called Mexico City, but are also prosecuted ex officio. This means that, once the appropriate authorities have knowledge of the facts, they must prosecute and convict the participants of the crime regardless of whether the victim signes her complaint to YosStop and its attackers or not.
Before understanding why the complaint to YosStop proceeded, leading her to be transferred to the Santa Martha Acatitla Prison awaiting the conclusion of her legal process, it is necessary to know the context under which she was accused.
The events occurred in 2018 when Ainara Suárez, a 16-year-old girl at the time, was a victim of rape while intoxicated; act that was documented on video and shared on social media by her attackers.
Later, the young woman became the victim of other young people, who recorded her while other girls her age beat and subdued her while forcing her to apologize. This video went viral and, some time later, was used by YouTuber YosStop to create content on her channel.
During that video, entitled “Pathetic generation”, the now accused mentioned the attack on Ainara as well as the fact that one of the aggressors contacted Hoffman to tell her her version of the events. Then Yoseline said that everything was derived from a video in which Ainara had had sex while drunk. She then recounted in detail what happened during the rape and criticized the young woman using high-sounding words against her.
Some time later, the victim posted other videos on the TikTok platform saying that she would take action against her attackers, including a complaint to YosStop for revictimizing and defaming her.
Although the YouTuber expressed that it was an injustice that they took legal action against her after Ainara Suárez filed a complaint on March 3rd, the authorities decided that there was sufficient evidence to review her case. Thus, on the night of Tuesday, June 29, police officers came to her home to escort her to the prison where she waits while her possible conviction is analyzed.
Among the reasons to justify her innocence, Yoseline Hoffman mentions that her channel has always used viral content, so she does not own the videos of the rape; however, in the video of “Patética generation”, she describes in detail the video of the rape, something that is stipulated as a crime in article 187 of the Penal Code of the Distrito Federal:
"Anyone who fixes, prints, video records, audio records, photographs, films or describes acts of physical or lascivious or sexual exhibitionism, real or simulated, in which a person under eighteen years of age or person who does not have the capacity to participate understand the meaning of the act or of the person who does not have the capacity to resist the conduct, the penalty of seven to twelve years in prison and a fine of one thousand to two thousand days will be imposed, as well as the confiscation and destruction of objects, instruments and proceeds of crime".
It is popular knowledge that the Crime of Child Pornography is considered serious, so it could be thought that Yoseline Hoffman would not be guilty of it for not having directly participated in the raping; however, current events show us the importance of measuring our actions, especially if we are in a position of popularity.
Just as the complaint to YosStop proceeded in the first instance, any other citizen or opinion leader could find themselves in a similar situation if they decide to publish their opinions on social media. Therefore, legal advice never hurts when it comes to monetizing our image.
In the end, only remains the question that many Mexican citizens have already been asking themselves for many years: what should be the regulations under which these opinion leaders who have found a public platform to upload content and express their opinions should be governed?
We give you a simple tip: our rights end when those of others begin and the Right to Freedom of Expression is no different.
When describing the facts of the rape of Ainara Suárez, Yoseline Hoffman exposed her to being molested again on social media and in her day-to-day life, an act that justifies the complaint to YosStop by the victim. It only remains to see if the accused must serve a sentence and for how long would it be.
If you want to guide yourself to address a legal situation, do not hesitate to contact our specialist lawyers who will advise you in all parts of your process.
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