A 32-year-old resident of Yakutia left for Ukraine just before going to a retrial for raping a five-year-old boy. At the first trial in May, the man was found not guilty. This event was reported by the SakhaDay publication on October 17.
The case of a 32-year-old resident of Yakutia accused of raping his partner's five-year-old son had been scheduled for a retrial in the Yakutsk city court. However, in September, the victim’s father found out that the man had left for war in Ukraine. The parent contacted the military prosecutor's office on the matter. The court informed the accused man’s unit about the pending retrial.
In 2021, the victim’s parents got divorced. At that time, the couple's eldest son was serving in the army, their 10-year-old daughter moved to live with her father, while their five-year-old son stayed with his mother and her new partner.
In May 2022, the father discovered bruises on the child's body. The boy told him that his mother's partner had been beating him. The man approached the police but the law enforcers refused to initiate an investigation. The father didn’t let his son go back to his mother, who, according to him, then attempted to abduct the child.
Four months later, the boy told his father about a sexual assault. Law enforcement authorities initiated a criminal case. The child's mother denied that her current partner had assaulted her son.
At the trial, the 32-year-old man was found not guilty. The defense argued that the child's father had sought revenge against his ex-wife. The father successfully appealed the decision and the case was scheduled for retrial. The mother was restricted in her parental rights.
The war in Ukraine has become a way to evade criminal prosecution, particularly often used by officials and legislators. According to the "Sirena" publication, at least 15 criminally accused officials have attempted to escape prosecution by going to war.
In the spring of 2023, Rustyam Abushayev, the mayor of Bolshoy Kamen in the Primorsky Krai, went to Ukraine while being charged with land fraud and illegal entrepreneurship. Ryazan legislator Nikita Usachov volunteered to join the troops just one day before his trial in a large-scale fraud case.
