Odesa convicts defendant in child porn production case in absentia for attempting to bribe investigator

The Khadzhybeyskyi District Court of Odesa found a 79-year-old native of Moscow guilty of attempting to bribe a police investigator.

As stated in the court' s verdict, the convict came to the attention of law enforcement officers because of a case of pornographic production involving children.

In 2022, police searched a man's home and seized his cell phone, laptop, cassette, and router. According to the Court Reporter, the phone contained correspondence with a convicted pensioner who sent photos and videos of a girl aged 8-10 years old, discussing them inappropriately. The police also searched the Moscow native's place. They identified the child the men were talking about.

The man then called the investigator and offered a bribe to close the criminal proceedings and not bring him to justice. For his help, he offered the investigator from 3 to 10 thousand US dollars, and later handed over 9.9 thousand US dollars and 4 thousand hryvnias in his office.

Law enforcement officers initiated criminal proceedings over the attempted bribery of the investigator. The court imposed on the suspect a custodial measure of restraint with bail set at UAH 208,000. He paid the bail and went abroad. To escape, he used a foreign passport, which the court did not force him to hand over. At the same time, he reported to the migration service that he had lost this document and requested a new one.

Later, he was put on the wanted list and tried in his absence, so he will serve his eight-year prison sentence after his actual arrest.

Meanwhile, police detained a man in Odesa who demanded $25,000 from a man for help in getting him employed by the Security Service of Ukraine.

Кирило Бойко