13 years in prison for the rape of a child: a court in Lviv upheld the sentence
The Court of Appeals upheld the sentence of a 28-year-old resident of the Lviv region, who was sentenced to 13 years in prison for raping his 13-year-old niece. The defendant and his attorney attempted to appeal the trial court’s decision and requested a significantly lighter sentence. However, prosecutors from the Lviv Regional Prosecutor’s Office fully proved the man’s guilt, so he will spend the next several years behind bars.
The incident occurred in early June of last year in one of the villages in the Yavoriv District. The man had come to visit his sister and stayed overnight at her home, where she lived with her family. Around 4:00 a.m., while everyone was still asleep, the relative entered the room of his 13-year-old niece. Taking advantage of the child’s helpless state, he raped her. As soon as the attacker left, the terrified girl ran out of the house, trying to find a safe place. The man rushed after her, but she miraculously managed to lock herself in the summer kitchen. There, in a state of shock and fear, the girl remained until morning.
In the morning, the child’s parents found her. They immediately called the police and an ambulance. Law enforcement responded instantly: they quickly determined where the perpetrator was hiding and apprehended him shortly after the crime. In April of this year, the trial court found the man guilty under Part 4 of Article 152 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and sentenced him to 13 years in prison.
However, the defendant and his defense attorney disagreed with this ruling. They filed an appeal requesting that the verdict be overturned and the case be remanded for a new trial. The defense attorneys insisted on reclassifying the crime under a much less severe provision, the penalty for which provides for “no more than five years of imprisonment.”
In court, prosecutors completely refuted all of the defense’s arguments. They demonstrated, step by step, that the man’s actions had been classified entirely correctly and that the sentence imposed by the court was “lawful and justified.” The Court of Appeals agreed with these arguments and upheld the first-instance court’s verdict without changes. The man will serve his full sentence. This was reported by .
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