In Lviv, the ex-head of one of the youth Christian societies is suspected of raping minors. According to law enforcement officers, since 2005, the "mentor" raped girls aged 11-14 and committed 147 sexual crimes.
It is reported Hromadske with reference to the prosecutor's office of the Lviv region.
11 criminal cases have been opened against the suspect. According to the publication, we are talking about the pastor of the officially unregistered Youth Christian Society "Children of Christ", 47-year-old Romana Moskovchenko from Lviv. The structure headed by him organized Christian children's camps, held lectures for children on religious topics, visited boarding schools and orphanages with gifts and performances.
The investigators established that the suspect worked as a coordinator of external relations in the educational and educational complex "School-gymnasium of St. Sophia" during 2003-2018, from the management of which he received permission to hold a meeting of his movement "Children of Christ". The meetings were organized in a room belonging to the church of St. Michael the Archangel in Lviv on ul. Vynnychenko, 22. There, the suspect committed crimes against children.
"He brought the victim to a separate storage room on the territory of the temple, where he committed lewd acts of a sexual nature against minors, which were expressed in the fact that he ordered the victim to expose her genitals and, in order to satisfy his sexual passion, looked at the naked minor victim and touched him with his fingers to her genitals," says the case file.
It was also established that he "exposed his genital organ and touched the naked body parts of minors with it." According to the investigation, the man also raped underage girls. Such actions allegedly took place under the pretext of punishment for the children's bad behavior or as compensation for their expenses. After all, among the victims were both children from full families and orphans and children deprived of parental care.
During the investigation, the law enforcement officers discovered and seized from the man digital data carriers with photos and videos, as well as other evidence, the content of which, according to the investigation, indicates that he committed acts of a sexual nature against minors.
The indictment against the 47-year-old man was sent to the court. If proven guilty, he faces up to 15 years in prison.
As the suspect's lawyer Anna Khudoba told journalists, the case is not clear-cut and the statute of limitations for the accused criminals has passed. According to her, the suspect himself does not admit guilt and now has serious mental disorders, and even during the pre-trial investigation he repeatedly tried to commit suicide.
"Competence is established as of October last year. But for now he has very serious disorders and he not only needs, but requires treatment, immediate intervention of a psychiatrist. He became a vegetable. And this is known to the law enforcement agencies," said lawyer Anna Khudoba.
