Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko called on parliamentarians to support amendments to legislation to strengthen child protection – mandatory life imprisonment for intentional murder and rape of minors. The Prosecutor General reported that this year 652 children became victims of crimes against life and health, some of them intentionally murdered, 120 children raped, and courts issued only 12 life sentences, UNN writes.
Details
"The law must protect those who cannot protect themselves. November 20 is Children's Day. It is a date that forces us not just to talk about safety. It forces us to face the truth. And the truth today is cruel: current legislation does not provide children with adequate protection," Kravchenko said.
And this, according to him, is not a theoretical problem - "it is the cause of real tragedies that could have been avoided."
"In the conditions of a full-scale war, children have become even more vulnerable. They die from rockets and drones, go through occupation, deportations, survive under shelling. But even in the rear, they remain defenseless against those who are capable of harming them," the Prosecutor General noted.
He emphasized: "When the country fights for life every day, the law must be uncompromising in protecting the youngest."
Statistics of crimes against children
The Prosecutor General cited this year's statistics, stating that "this is a warning that we have no right to ignore":
- 2377 children became victims in criminal proceedings;
- 652 suffered from crimes against life and health, some of them intentionally murdered;
- 120 children raped.
"And despite this, the courts issued only 12 life sentences. In the remaining cases - 7-15 years of imprisonment. And some criminals can be released much earlier - due to parole under Article 81 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine," Kravchenko said.
He cited one of the cases.
"An eight-month-old boy. An infant who had not even taken his first steps. The mother's drunk cohabitant beat the child to death. The court gave him 15 years," Kravchenko said.
"We will certainly appeal this verdict. The regional prosecutor will personally defend justice in court in memory of this child," the Prosecutor General emphasized.
But this, according to him, is not an isolated episode. "This is a consequence of a system that does not distinguish the degree of helplessness of the victim and does not provide adequate responsibility. This cannot be. This should not be," Kravchenko said.
"My position is clear and unambiguous: the law must be changed," Kravchenko emphasized.
Proposal for legislative changes
"In October, I appealed to the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Law Enforcement with specific proposals - to establish mandatory life imprisonment in cases of: intentional murder of a minor; rape of a person under 14 years of age regardless of 'consent'; rape of a minor," Kravchenko said.
These changes are not about cruelty. They are about justice, about the inevitability of punishment, about a clear signal to the criminal: for encroaching on a child's life or dignity, you will never return to freedom. I urge people's deputies to support our initiative. Not when "there is time." But now
"Because children cannot wait for the law to mature. To protect the most vulnerable, legislation must become stronger. This is our responsibility to children, to society, and to the future of Ukraine," the Prosecutor General concluded.