In Lviv, a 23-year-old local resident has been sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment for sexual offences against children. In addition to the main sentence, the court banned him for 3 years from holding positions or engaging in activities involving work with children. This was reported by the Frankivsk District Prosecutor’s Office of the city of Lviv.
The court established that over the course of several years the man systematically involved underage and minor girls in sexual relationships, which led to serious consequences, including pregnancy and childbirth in one of the victims. To find his victims, he used Telegram channels intended for communication with teenagers.
To gain their trust, the convicted man concealed his real age and, depending on the situation, convinced the girls that he was 16 or 17. Exploiting the children’s age-related vulnerability and lack of experience, he resorted to psychological manipulation, sent them nude photos of himself and initiated sexually explicit communication. Expert examinations confirmed that at the time the unlawful acts were committed against them, the victims had not yet reached social and psychological maturity and were unable to fully comprehend the consequences of the relationships imposed on them.
Four girls suffered from the man’s actions; at the start of their communication with him they were between 11 and 15 years old. In one case, he committed lewd acts, exploiting the child’s fear of possible physical coercion. Another girl he persuaded to live with him and involved in regular sexual intercourse. He persistently tried to persuade yet another victim to meet him in person, but she broke off contact and blocked him. During the investigation of the episode involving the fourth girl, with whom he had sexual intercourse when she was 14, resulting in pregnancy and childbirth, law enforcement officers uncovered all the other episodes.
A large-scale investigation began after doctors at the maternity hospital contacted the police. During the examination of the convicted man’s mobile phones, photos and videos of the victims were found, as well as a significant amount of other media content depicting violence against children, which he stored on his devices and in the Telegram messenger. At the prosecutors’ initiative, a molecular genetic examination was carried out, which unequivocally confirmed his paternity of the victim’s child.
Already during the court proceedings, the man proposed marriage to the underage mother of his child, attempting in this way to improve his position and avoid a harsh sentence. However, according to the prosecutor’s office, the evidence provided made it possible to fully prove his guilt in all the offences imputed to him.
The court found the Lviv man guilty of committing acts of a sexual nature with a person under the age of 16 (Part 1 of Article 155 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), acts of a sexual nature against a person under the age of 14 by a person who had previously committed offences under Article 155 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (Part 6 of Article 152 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), proposing a meeting using information and telecommunication technologies for the purpose of committing acts of a sexual nature against a young child (Part 3 of Article 156-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), as well as the intentional obtaining of access to child pornography and its storage without the purpose of sale or distribution (Part 1 of Article 301-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
«The law clearly and unequivocally places responsibility for such crimes solely on the adult. Because of their age-related lack of experience and psychological vulnerability, children are unable to recognise manipulation and resist targeted pressure… No child should be left alone to face such ordeals, and the person who has committed the crime must be punished in accordance with the law», said Acting Head of the Frankivsk District Prosecutor’s Office of the city of Lviv Viktor Oskorip.
Until the verdict enters into legal force, the convicted man will remain in custody. The pre-trial investigation was conducted by Police Department No. 1 of Lviv District Police Directorate No. 2 of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Lviv Region, with operational support from the Cybercrime Counteraction Department in Lviv Region of the Cyber Police Department of the National Police of Ukraine and the Criminal Investigation Unit of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Lviv Region. The verdict will enter into force after the expiry of the appeal period, and information about the convicted man will be entered into the Unified Register of Persons Convicted of Crimes against the Sexual Freedom and Sexual Integrity of Minors.