Man received a life sentence for raping three stepdaughters - decision was achieved on appeal, Prosecutor General Kravchenko personally supported the prosecution
Kyiv • UNN
A 50-year-old man was sentenced to life imprisonment for raping three minor stepdaughters. The prosecutor's office appealed the initial sentence of 15 years.
A 50-year-old man who raped three minor stepdaughters over two years was sentenced to life imprisonment after the prosecutor's office appealed the first-instance court decision, reported on Friday Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko on social media, stating that he personally supported the prosecution in the Kharkiv Court of Appeal, writes UNN.
Life imprisonment. The prosecutor's office achieved such a verdict today for a 50-year-old man who raped three minor stepdaughters over two years. The first-instance court sentenced him to 15 years in prison. We considered such punishment disproportionate to the gravity of the crime and appealed the verdict. Today I personally supported the prosecution in the Kharkiv Court of Appeal
"Our position was principled: there can be no leniency for crimes against children. The court agreed with the prosecutor's office's arguments and changed the sentence to life imprisonment," the Prosecutor General noted.
According to the Prosecutor General, these crimes occurred at night in the victims' home, when the children were sleeping and most vulnerable. "First, the man committed sexual violence against the oldest child, then moved on to the younger ones. A person who should have been their protection and support became a source of fear and lifelong trauma," he stated.
"Our work to ensure the harshest punishment for crimes where children are victims is systematic and yields results," Kravchenko noted.
In particular, in Zhytomyr region, according to him, "the prosecutor's office defended life imprisonment for a 23-year-old man who, under the influence of drugs, broke into a woman's apartment, raped her, killed her and her minor daughter with a knife, and then set the apartment on fire to destroy evidence."
Another life sentence was recently, as the Prosecutor General reported, "given to a man in Odesa who raped and brutally killed a 7-year-old neighbor girl, and then tried to hide the body in the basement of a neighboring house."
"No court decision can return to parents the children they have lost, or to victims their lost childhood and sense of security. But the state must do everything to ensure that such criminals never again have the opportunity to take or cripple someone's life. I am convinced: when it comes to especially serious crimes against children, the punishment must be as severe as possible. No compromises. No leniency. No right to a second chance for those who deliberately destroy children's lives. We continue to work," Kravchenko emphasized.