Odesa region sentences rapist of 13 children to 15 years in prison

A court in Odesa region found a man guilty of systematic child rape and sentenced him to 15 years in prison.

According to the deputy head of the Odesa regional prosecutor's office, Yuriy Sharnin, the prosecutor's office insisted on life imprisonment for the rapist, but due to his age of 74, he managed to avoid this punishment.

"The prosecutor's office insisted on the maximum penalty for a serial criminal who systematically abused children and has a criminal record related to sex crimes. However, given his age, namely 74 years, the law does not allow life imprisonment to be applied to this category of persons. In this regard, we guided the court to impose a sentence of 15 years in prison. At the same time, we understand that there is no punishment that would correspond to the depth of psychological trauma inflicted on children in a civilized society," commented Yuriy Sharnin on the verdict.

According to the investigation, in the period from July 2020 to May 2021, a man who had previously been prosecuted and sentenced to imprisonment for sexual offenses lured boys aged 8 to 14 to his home under the pretext of playing games and eating sweets. He would then physically abuse the children, rape them, some repeatedly, and let them go home. To keep the victims silent, he exerted psychological pressure. In addition, the perpetrator would expose himself on the street and show his genitals to children.

The investigation identified 13 children who suffered from the criminal actions of the perpetrator. Investigators also found out that the accused began to engage in criminal acts of a specific nature at the age of 17. With a fully realized desire, he took the path of crime. He was brought to justice 5 times. He spent a total of 20 years behind bars for sex crimes.

In court, the offender did not admit his guilt, arguing that it was his nephew who did it, and that he himself was physiologically incapable of such actions.

Кирило Бойко