“Play on the phone and eat candy”: in Odessa, a grandfather taunted boys
“13 children and repeated visits to the abuser”: in Odesa a court sentenced a repeat offender to 15 years' imprisonment for a series of crimes
At the Peresypskyi District Court in Odesa a verdict was announced on April 22, 2026 in the case № 519/1136/21, which shocked with the scale and duration of the crimes. The defendant — a man with prior convictions for similar offenses — during 2020–2021 systematically gained the trust of children by using things simple and familiar to them: phone games, cartoons, sweets. Because of this many children initially perceived him as a “good acquaintance” and came to him voluntarily.
According to the court materials, at least 13 children became victims, and what is especially alarming — some of them came to him several times. This is explained by the fact that children did not immediately realize the danger, and the defendant deliberately created a sense of trust: he allowed them to play games, treated them, and sometimes gave small amounts of money. After the first contact he intimidated the children or persuaded them to stay silent, which allowed him to continue the unlawful acts.
The investigation established that the man acted according to a similar scheme: he met children on the street or through other children, invited them to his place, after which he locked the premises and took advantage of their helpless state. Some children came with friends, others came alone, not suspecting how it would end. The court noted that children often could not leave the premises by themselves because the doors were locked from the inside.
The testimony of the victims themselves, given during the pre-trial investigation with psychologists involved, played an important role in the case. The court found these testimonies consistent and mutually corroborating despite the different ages, social backgrounds, and personalities of the children. It was separately emphasized that it is practically impossible to force such a number of children to invent identical stories.
The defendant did not admit his guilt and insisted that the children had allegedly slandered him. However, the court rejected these arguments because they were not supported by any evidence. On the contrary, expert examinations showed that he was capable of understanding his actions, and his claims of physical incapacity proved to be false.
An aggravating circumstance was recidivism: the man had already been convicted of crimes against children in 1997, 2001 and 2013, but after his release he returned to similar actions. The court emphasized that such behavior indicates high social danger and the absence of any rehabilitation.
As a result, the court found him guilty under several articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and imposed the final punishment — 15 years of imprisonment with an additional ban on working with children for 3 years. Also, after the verdict takes legal effect, he will be entered into the special register of persons convicted of crimes against the sexual integrity of children.
The court separately emphasized: this case is an example of how danger can be disguised as “ordinary communication”, and why supervision of children’s safety must be constant — both by parents and by society.
