Prosecutor General of Ukraine Ruslan Kravchenko reacted to the case of the former director of the "Molodyy Theater" Andriy Bilous, who was notified today of suspicion of sexual violence against female students, and indicated that a motion has already been filed to choose a pre-trial detention measure for the lecturer, writes UNN.
Every crime will have consequences. At the beginning of the year, our society was shaken by a shocking story of a female student who spoke about sexual harassment by a lecturer at the Kyiv National University of Theater, Cinema and Television named after Karpenko-Kary. This frank revelation exposed the depth of the problem - abuse of power, impunity, and fear within educational institutions. Subsequently, other female students of this university joined her, telling their stories. Today we took a step towards restoring justice.
The Prosecutor General indicated that the lecturer was notified of suspicion of committing sexual crimes:
- Part 2 and Part 3 of Article 152 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine;
- Part 1 and Part 2 of Article 153 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
"My deputy Mariia Vdovychenko filed a motion for the election of a preventive measure and will personally represent the prosecution in court," Kravchenko noted.
"We understand how difficult it is for victims to decide to speak. In most similar cases, people remain silent due to fear, shame, or distrust. But this particular case became a turning point: the courage of one girl made it possible to identify other episodes of harassment that became part of the pre-trial investigation. It's time to frankly say - harassment exists in Ukraine and, as a rule, it always goes hand in hand with silence. Don't be silent!" - emphasized the Prosecutor General.
Context
Today, October 21, law enforcement officers conducted searches at the former artistic director of the Kyiv Academic Molodyy Theater and lecturer at KNUTKiT named after Karpenko-Kary Andriy Bilous.
After that, the former director of the "Molodyy Theater" Bilous was notified of suspicion of sexual violence against female students.
What Bilous is accused of
The first to publicly report harassment was the director's former student, Sofia Sapozhnik. The girl claims that the man asked her to send intimate photos and insisted on discussing sexual fantasies. According to her, the former head sent intimate photos of other girls to students. After that, a number of other accusations of a similar nature against Bilous appeared.
In January 2025, Karpenko-Kary University appealed to the police with a request to check the disseminated information and give it a legal assessment. In the same month, Bilous was suspended from work at the university.
In February, investigators of the Shevchenkivskyi police department initiated criminal proceedings under Article 153 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - sexual violence.
On the same day, the Kyiv City State Administration announced its intention to suspend him from his official duties at the Molodyy Theater.
At the same time, a protest action took place near the Molodyy Theater against the decision of the Kyiv City State Administration to leave Bilous as director. Participants expressed support for 46 theater employees who demanded his suspension.
Bilous himself denies all accusations.