He raped a child: a man's 15-year sentence in Poltava was replaced with life imprisonment
The Court of Appeal took into account the systematic nature of the violence and the severe consequences for the girl
A man convicted of sexual violence and repeated rape of a 13-year-old girl received life imprisonment instead of 15 years in prison. This decision was made on September 23 by the Poltava Court of Appeal, upholding the prosecutors’ arguments. The change of sentence was reported by the Office of the Prosecutor General. According to Telegram @pgo_gov_ua.
According to the prosecutor’s office, the child regularly visited the man together with her mother, who was in a relationship with him. During these visits he committed sexual violence against the girl. The court found that the sexual violent acts occurred in 2020–2021. In the autumn of 2021 the man also repeatedly raped the child: the court proved at least five such episodes.
Expert findings confirmed severe consequences for the victim. The girl exhibited long-term psychological trauma, changes in behavior and personality development.
The first verdict in this case was handed down on March 6, 2026 by the Podilskyi District Court of Poltava. The man was found guilty under part 4 of Article 153 and part 6 of Article 152 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. For separate crimes the court imposed the following sentences:
- for sexual violence — 10 years imprisonment;
- for rape of a child — 15 years imprisonment.
Given the totality of the crimes, the final sentence was the longer of these terms. The prosecution appealed specifically the part of the verdict that concerned the sentence.
In justifying the appeal, the prosecution emphasized the systematic nature of the violence, the victim’s young age, the number of proven episodes, and the severity of the consequences for the child. The appellate court accepted these arguments, overturned the previous verdict in the part concerning the sentence, and issued a new one — life imprisonment.
Previously we wrote:
- For 10 years: stepfather to serve time for systematic rape of his stepdaughter
- In Chernivtsi, a 34-year-old received life imprisonment for weekly rapes of his 13-year-old partner’s daughter
- In Mykolaiv, a man was sentenced for violence against a child: 15 years imprisonment and payment of moral damages
- It didn’t work to “get away with it”: stepfather-rapist received life, despite calling friends to lie in court
- Are Ukrainian children not protected by the law? The Prosecutor General published frightening statistics
