In the Kharkiv region, a man was sentenced to 15 years in prison for attempting to rape a 13-year-old girl
The court upheld the 15-year prison sentence for a man who attempted to rape a 13-year-old girl. The incident occurred on July 20, 2024, in the Chuhuiv district, when an intoxicated man chased the child and knocked her to the ground.
A passerby prevented the attacker from carrying out his criminal intent. Hearing the screams, the man rushed to the child’s aid, pushed the attacker away, and rescued the girl.
As a result of the attack, the victim sustained numerous injuries and was hospitalized.
Law enforcement officers detained the assailant in accordance with Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine. He was subsequently notified of the charges against him, and at the prosecutor’s request, the court ordered pretrial detention without the option of bail.
During the pretrial investigation, it was established that the defendant is a repeat offender. In 2012, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for a similar crime against sexual freedom and robbery. After his release in 2021, he did not reform.
Although the defendant pleaded not guilty, prosecutors presented the court with sufficient and compelling evidence that his intent was specifically to commit sexual violence against a child for the purpose of satisfying his sexual desires.
Based on the public prosecution brought by prosecutors from the Chuhuiv District Prosecutor’s Office of Kharkiv Oblast, the court found the man guilty of attempted rape of a minor, committed as a repeat offense (Part 3 of Article 15, Part 6 of Article 152 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), and sentenced him to the maximum penalty provided for by the article—15 years of imprisonment.
Disagreeing with the verdict, the defendant filed an appeal, in which he requested that the decision of the court of first instance be overturned and a new trial be ordered. Among other things, he claimed that he had no intention of raping the victim, but allegedly only wanted to steal her cell phone.
The Kharkiv Court of Appeals upheld the prosecutors’ position, denied the appeal, and upheld the first-instance court’s verdict.
Source: Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office
As a reminder, in Latvia, a man and a woman were charged in a case involving the rape of a 12-year-old girl.
Earlier, a female officer of the General Staff was detained for accepting a bribe of 14,000 dollars.
In the Chernihiv region, a detained deserter attempted to offer a bribe of 40,000 hryvnias.
