In Lviv, a 47-year-old local resident, who had been a deacon in one of the religious communities, has been sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment. He was found guilty of sexual offences against his underage daughter and of producing and possessing child pornography. This was reported by the Lviv Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
The court established that the abuse of the child began back in 2009, when the family were still living together. After the divorce in 2010, the 9-year-old girl remained living with her father, and the sexual abuse became systematic. For around four years, the man almost daily corrupted his daughter, slept naked with her in the same bed, and when the victim turned 11, he raped her twice.
The abuse took place not only at home but also during holidays. On trips to the forest, the father forced the child to pose for nude photographs. Between 2009 and 2013, he produced more than 190 pornographic photos and videos involving his daughter, who was then between 8 and 12 years old. These files, as well as about half a million other prohibited materials involving other children, were stored by the man on a hard drive until he was exposed.
At the end of 2013, the girl tried to tell her father’s new partner about what she had gone through, but the woman did not believe her. The very next day, the man sent his daughter to live with her mother. Owing to deep psychological trauma, from 2014 the victim worked with psychologists and spoke about what had happened, but only in 2021, when she turned 20, did she contact law enforcement.
The man was found guilty of sexual violence and rape committed against a person under the age of fourteen, of the corruption of a young child committed by a family member, as well as of obtaining access to child pornography, its acquisition, possession and production, committed repeatedly (Part 4 of Article 152, Part 4 of Article 153, Part 2 of Article 156, Parts 3, 4 and 5 of Article 301, Part 1 of Article 301-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
The court imposed the maximum sentence on the accused — 15 years’ imprisonment. His details will be entered into the Unified Register of Persons Convicted of Crimes Against the Sexual Freedom and Sexual Integrity of a Young Child. The court also fully upheld the victim’s civil claim for compensation for non-pecuniary damage in the amount of UAH 1.5 million.
Until the verdict comes into legal force, the man will remain in custody. The pre-trial investigation in the criminal proceedings was carried out by investigators of the Investigation Department of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Lviv Region. The verdict comes into legal force after the expiry of the time limit for lodging an appeal.