In Kharkiv Oblast, two representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate have been notified of suspicion in sexual crimes against underage girls, the Office of the General Prosecutor reports.
Since 2024, Ukraine has restricted the Moscow Patriarchate church's activities due to its ties to the Russian Orthodox Church, which supports Russia's aggression, and numerous cases of collaborationism among its clergy.
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According to investigators, a 52-year-old rassophore monk responsible for baking invited girls to his home under the pretext of treating them to sweets.
After treating them, the man forced them to go to the bathroom, undress, and take a shower. He photographed and filmed the naked girls, storing the pornography on his personal phone.
The pro-Russian monk plied the minors with alcohol
Law enforcement detained the monk and notified him of suspicion for producing and possessing child pornography.
During the investigation, one 14-year-old girl stated she had been systematically subjected to sexual acts by the man. She claimed the suspect got her drunk with alcohol so she couldn't resist.
Prosecution will demand cancellation of bail
After necessary forensic examinations, additional legal qualifications will be determined.
Additionally, a 24-year-old hieromonk from the same church, while intoxicated, lured a 14-year-old girl to the basement of one of the monastery buildings.
There, manipulating the child's trust, he committed sexual acts with the victim in an unnatural way. He was served a suspicion notice under Article 155, Part 1, of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
The rassophore monk was placed in custody with a bail option of $22,774. The cleric was assigned home arrest.
The prosecution will appeal the decisions and demand pre-trial detention without alternatives for both.
Earlier, Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in the US, warned that Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine is exterminating religious freedom in a return to Soviet-era levels of persecution.
