Office of the Ombudsman of the Verkhovna Rada reacted to the judgment on the resonant case of gang rape by teenagers in the village of Upper Gate in Transcarpathia: the case is taken under special control, the actions of the court, as well as all participants in the process, will be carefully analyzed.
Ombudsman Dmitry Lubinets stated that the lawyers of his office will carefully analyze the actions of the judge who led the process (about which a special letter will be sent to the High Council of Justice), the actions of the prosecutor’s office, as well as the actions of the local child protection service, which also participated in the process.
According to the Ombudsman, three minors raped their also minor friend, filming it on video. At trial, all three pleaded guilty.
Although the judge of the Volovets District Court sentenced the perpetrators to five years in prison, she released all three from punishment, setting them on probation for two years. At the same time, Lubinets notes, the verdict was issued under the article of the Criminal Code of Ukraine on sexual violence “without penetration”, and not under the article on rape.
The Ombudsman believes that the rights of the victim during the trial were grossly violated, since instead of a lawyer, her interests in court were represented by the child protection service of the local village council, which had previously given positive characteristics to the rapists. Lubinets also notes that the mother of one of the convicted teenagers is an employee of the same protection service.
The representative of the ombudsman’s office has already received consent from the relatives of the victim to take measures to restore the rights of the child. Lubinets said that the case was taken under his special control.
- February 24, 2023 in Los Angeles court found guilty former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein for rape and sexual harassment and added 16 years to his sentence in addition to his previous sentence.
