A man has been arrested for allegedly buying a Shein childlike sex-doll in France.
The doll, until recently offered on Chinese retailer Shein’s French website, was reportedly discovered by chance among parcels being delivered to a warehouse in the south of France on October 3.
According to the public prosecutor’s office in Aix-en-Provence today, the alleged recipient, 56, has a criminal record for sexual offences committed against minors.
According to information given by the authorities, searches of his home were also carried out. If found guilty, the man faces up to five years in prison and a fine of €75,000, according to the French Criminal Code.
On October 3, the French child protection chief Sarah El Haïry demanded that the authorities identify the buyer with the help of the platform, arguing that there is a link between these objects and real-world abuse.
“A Shein sex-doll ordered by a 56-year-old French man already convicted of sexual offences: proof that these objects fuel paedophile urges,” she said.
“At my request, buyers are being tracked down. We are not turning a blind eye. Every doll fuels a child’s hell,” she added.
In France, even if buyers are not responsible for the sale or distribution of these dolls, simply purchasing them can be considered equivalent to possessing child pornography.
According to French law: “The act, with the intent of distribution, of capturing, recording, or transmitting the image or representation of a minor when this image or representation is pornographic is punishable by five years of imprisonment and a fine of €75,000.”
There is already case law: In 2022, an Amazon buyer was given a three-month suspended prison sentence for purchasing a similar doll.
