Russian priest who raped boys at least 46 times jailed for 17 years

Russian Orthodox priest, who sexually abused boys under the age of 14, has been sentenced to 17 years behind bars. While the priest was convicted of 46 rape counts, he was accused of molesting children nearly 90 times.

The rogue hieromonk Meletiy, Andrey Tkachenko, has served as the director of an Orthodox gymnasium in the Yakutia region since 2010. He was exposed and detained last March, initially facing two counts of sexually assaulting children.

As the investigation unfolded, the case grew to a truly terrifying scale. The priest ultimately faced 87 counts of sexual offences against boys aged below 14. ‘Only’ 46 counts were proven in court, however, which resulted in the sentence of 17 years at a maximum-security prison.

Apart from the jail time, the priest was slapped with a 400 thousand rubles ($6,000) fine and was ordered to get mandatory treatment from a psychiatrist.

Orthodox hierarchs of the Yakutia region are considering to strip Meletiy off his priesthood. The decision on the matter will be made following his appeals with higher Russian courts.

“We’re asking God to give the victims strength and patience. The victims and their families will receive all the pastoral care they need. We ask those, who follow the whole situation, to refrain from harsh statements, especially public ones,” the diocese of Yakutia said in a statement.

The Meletiy affair, however, has caused quite a stir on social media, with many demanding a life sentence for the “pedophile priest,” claiming that the sentence was actually too soft.

Under Russian legislation, however, the priest’s offences could have yielded ‘only’ maximum of 20-years behind bars. Meletiy’s case is not the first that created resonated with the public in Russia. Back in January a Russian priest, who was a father of four, was found guilty of sexually abusing underage girls at Orthodox summer camps in Russia and Greece. He was sentenced to 14 years in a maximum security prison.

https://www.rt.com/russia/445169-russia-priest-pedophile-jailed/

Russian priest, father of 4, handed 14yr prison term for molesting girls at summer camps

A Russian priest, father of four, has been found guilty of sexually abusing underage girls at Orthodox summer camps in Russia and Greece. He was sentenced to 14 years in a maximum security prison.

A court in the Leningrad region found Gleb Grozovsky, 38, guilty of molesting three underage girls. It has been reported that the court included the time he has already served since his arrest in 2014 in the sentence. In addition to his jail term, the priest will also have to pay each victim 400,000 rubles ($7,000) in moral damages.  

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Russian priest, father of 4, handed 14yr prison term for molesting girls at summer camps

Published time: 17 Jan, 2018 10:46Edited time: 17 Jan, 2018 11:52

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Priest Gleb Grozovsky © Alexei Danichev © Sputnik

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A Russian priest, father of four, has been found guilty of sexually abusing underage girls at Orthodox summer camps in Russia and Greece. He was sentenced to 14 years in a maximum security prison.

A court in the Leningrad region found Gleb Grozovsky, 38, guilty of molesting three underage girls. It has been reported that the court included the time he has already served since his arrest in 2014 in the sentence. In addition to his jail term, the priest will also have to pay each victim 400,000 rubles ($7,000) in moral damages.  

© Глеб Грозовский / vk.com

An investigation found that Grozovsky had sexually abused a girl who was under 14 in 2011 at an Orthodox summer camp in Leningrad region. In 2013, he abused two girls in another Orthodox summer camp in Greece, the probe discovered.

Following the accusations, Grozovsky fled Russia in autumn 2013 and was charged in absentia. He was suspended from church service following the probe that year. Moscow also issued an international search warrant for him. The priest was finally detained in Israel, which extradited him to Russia in 2016. 

Grozovsky has denied any wrongdoing, claiming that the incidents had never occurred. “I understand the sentence and will file an appeal. This is not the end, you will see the situation change,” he said, responding to the court’s decision. He has 10 days to file an appeal. 

The priest has already spoken of his plans in the event of his appeal being rejected. He revealed that he would write a book while in jail. “God helps those people to go through difficulties, whom he loves and chooses. Only those who were behind bars wrote normal books,” he said.

The Russian Orthodox Church refused to comment on the court verdict until the sentence comes into force. The diocese of Gatchina in Leningrad region where Grozovsky served will not defrock him at this stage, as he has yet to file an appeal.

https://www.rt.com/news/416162-russian-priest-girls-abuse/

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Failure to report sex abuse disclosures in confession should be crime – commission

Priests who fail to report information about child sex abuse disclosed to them during religious confession should face criminal charges, an Australian investigative authority recommends in a new report.

Australia's Royal Commission into ‘Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse’ recommends that all states and territories in Australia introduce legislation to make failure to report child sexual abuse in an institutional setting a criminal offense.

The report stated that there should be “no excuse, protection nor privilege”for clerics who fail to alert police after being told about sexual abuse during religious confession. This is despite the fact that the inviolability of the seal of confession is considered exempt from mandatory reporting requirements.

The inquiry says the right to practice one’s religious beliefs “must accommodate civil society’s obligation to provide for the safety of all and, in particular, children’s safety from sexual abuse.”

It is among one of 85 recommendations made in a report proposing a number of changes to Australia’s criminal justice system to ensure fairer treatment for child sexual abuse victims.

The royal commission is Australia’s most powerful investigative body. It was established in 2013 to investigate how churches, sports clubs and other institutions have responded to child sex abuse allegations.

Other recommendations made by the commission include:

Expanding grooming offences to include victim’s relatives or caregivers

Less traumatic methods of testifying for victims

Creating national laws to prevent offenders moving between institutions

Reforming sentencing practices, including harsher penalties for repeat offenders

The recommendations come after the inquiry heard that between 1980 and 2015 more than 4,400 people claim to have suffered child sexual abuse. It was also informed that more than 7 percent of Australia’s Catholic priests allegedly committed child abuse offenses between 1950 and 2010.

https://www.rt.com/news/399563-confession-sex-abuse-report/