The founder of a children's center was arrested in Vinnytsia Oblast on suspicion of child molestation
Law enforcement officials suspect the founder of a Christian rehabilitation center in the Vinnytsia region of having abused girls in his care over a period of many years. According to the investigation, the abuse may have continued for more than 15 years.
This was reported on Saturday, May 2, by Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko.
The rehabilitation center was established back in 2006. It was intended to provide support and assistance to children facing difficult life circumstances.
However, according to Kravchenko, the center’s founder exploited the children’s trust and committed sexual acts against them. To do this, he selected victims from among the girls in each group of 25 to 50 children, remaining alone with them in the center’s premises, where he committed the abuse. The crimes took place in the office, various rooms, the boiler room, the restroom, and even during outdoor excursions.
To ensure the children did not resist or tell anyone about what they had experienced, the man allegedly intimidated them with threats of punishment. This continued for all 15 years since the facility’s founding.
It was only in 2021 that the mother of a 13-year-old girl at the center learned of the abuse against her daughter and contacted law enforcement. That marked the beginning of an investigation that lasted five years. During this time, investigators interviewed dozens of witnesses and former residents of the center.
They were able to identify 10 girls who had been abused—at the time, they were between 8 and 14 years old. However, investigators do not rule out the possibility that there may be more victims. The victims reported that the center’s founder touched them, pressed them against his genitals, and forced them to “pleasure” him.
The man was charged with sexual assault and the sexual exploitation of minors (Part 4 of Article 153 and Parts 1 and 2 of Article 156 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) and was taken into custody without the right to bail. The Prosecutor General promises “inevitable and the harshest possible punishment.”
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