Slovenia’s National Assembly has unanimously approved amendments to the Criminal Code that strengthen penalties for soliciting children under 15 for sexual purposes and make attempts to commit the offence punishable.
Under the new legislation, soliciting a minor through information and communication technologies for sexual purposes will carry a prison sentence of between one and three years, compared with a maximum of one year previously. Because attempted offences carrying a maximum sentence of less than three years were not punishable under Slovenia’s general Criminal Code provisions, the change also means that attempted child grooming can now constitute a criminal offence.
The amendments were prompted in part by a case involving former Dornava mayor Matej Zorko, who contacted a person on Grindr who presented himself as a 14-year-old and arranged a meeting for sexual purposes. Although prosecutors said his intent and actions were clear, the criminal complaint was dismissed because the person was actually 16, highlighting a gap in the previous legislation. Prosecutors and child-protection advocates subsequently called for attempted solicitation to be criminalised.
The reform comes amid a rise in online sexual offences against children in Slovenia. Police records show that cases increased from almost 70 in 2015 to 204 in 2025, while 247 were recorded in 2024. Authorities say the most common forms involve grooming children for sexual acts or attempting to persuade them to send nude images, often through social media and other online platforms.
