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A court has recognized the evidence gathered by the Pskov Region Office of the Investigative Committee sufficient to convict two 15-year-olds of a crime under Part 3, item “a” of Article 132 of the RF Penal Code (violent sexual actions committed against an underage person by a group of people using helpless state of the victim).

According to investigators, at night of 27 September 2015, a company of 7 teenagers, including some girls, drank alcohol in a flat in Pskov. When one of 14-year-old girls got drunk, the teenager who lived in the flat decided to rape her. Taking advantage of the girl’s helpless state, the accused together with other teenagers sexually abused the victim while others caught it on their cellphone cameras.

During the investigation, in addition to the main work of finding the guilty ones and gathering the evidence, the investigators have also taken steps to find out the reasons for and conditions that contributed to the crime.

In the first place, the victim received specialized medical and psychological aid.

All legal representatives of the teenagers have been made answerable for the crime under Article 20.22 of the RF Administrative Offences Code (taking alcohol by minors).

They also initiated a check at the shop that had sold alcohol to minors. Following this check the shop assistant was made answerable under Part 2.1 of Article 14.16 of the RF Administrative Offence Code (violation of rules for selling ethyl alcohol and alcohol products) and was fined for 30 thousand rubles.

In addition, a shop assistant, who had sold to one of the accused alcohol and cigarettes, was also called to account for it. Under Part 2.1 of Article 14.16 of the RF Administrative Offence Code (violation of rules for selling ethyl alcohol and alcohol products) she was fined for 50 thousand rubles and under Part 3 of Article 14.53 of the same code (failure to follow restriction and violation of the prohibition in the sale of tobacco products) for 5 thousand rubles.

Moreover, later on the alcohol sale license of the shop was suspended and then annulled. The investigators confiscated the alcohol that was still on the shelves and in stock and made a protocol under Part 2.1 of Article 14.16 of the RF Administrative Offence Code.

The mother of one of the accused, in whose flat the crime was committed, was dismissed from the position of the director of a state-financed social institution.

Following meetings with senior officials of the child neglect and juvenile crimes inspectorate:

-           The organization of education in schools has been monitored, programs and methods have been introduced to their operation, to form law-abiding behavior of minors, ethics in the Internet and adequate guidelines have been prepared;

-          Prevention of selling tobacco or alcohol to minors has been stepped up;

-          Rehabilitation of underage victims of criminal assault has been introduced in specialized facilities for children in need of social rehabilitation.

The court has sentenced the two 15-year-olds to 2 years in a juvenile detention center.

Other teenagers whose actions contain elements of crimes under Part 2, items “d” and “f” of Article 117 of the RF Penal Code (torture), Part 3 of Article 137 (invasion of personal privacy) and Part 2, item “d” of Article 242-1 (making and circulating materials of articles with pornographic images of minors) have avoided criminal liability because at the relevant time they had not reached an age of criminal responsibility. However they have been put on a list on juvenile delinquency authorities as a group with bad social behavior.