Christian camp leader convicted over 147 instances of child rape
Roman Moskovchenko (Photo:Roman Moskovchenko via Facebook)
A Lviv District Court found Roman Moskovchenko, former head of a Christian summer camp, guilty of 147 instances of rape and molestation of minors, Ukrainian human rights organization Women’s Perspectives, whose lawyers represented the victims, said in a Facebook post on Nov. 7.
“The Halytsky District Court of Lviv found the pedophile and organizer of Christian camps guilty of 147 episodes of rape and molestation of minors,” the message said.
“49-year-old Roman Moskovchenko, who had an unblemished reputation as a religious mentor for children in the Children of Christ organization, will most likely spend the rest of his life under forced treatment in a psychiatric hospital.”
Moskovchenko was charged in February 2021, followed by a medical examination in June, which found Moskovchenko legally incompetent. On Nov. 2, the court found the man guilty on all counts.
“The court rejected no episode. The verdict sentenced Moskovchenko to mandatory treatment in a psychiatric hospital with reinforced supervision,” said Oleh Ivanov, the lawyer who represented the victims.
Ivanov also reported that if the patient recovers and the medical evaluation confirms it, the court will return to reviewing the indictment. If he does not recover, he will spend the rest of his life in a psychiatric hospital.
According to media reports, Moskovchenko committed crimes against minors over the course of seven years, starting 2005, when he worked as a coordinator of external relations at the St. Sophia School-Gymnasium.
It was also reported that Moskovchenko did not intimidate his victims, making them psychologically dependent on him instead, ensuring that his victims did not come forward for many years. One of the victims reported Moskovchenko’s actions to the police when she was already 22 years old – in December 2019. She convinced several other girls to file reports against offender.
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