Recidivist Sentenced to 18 Years in Uzbekistan for Assault on Schoolgirl

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) —  The Akhangaran City Court has delivered a verdict in the high-profile case involving an attack on a third-grade student, an incident that shocked the public this past October.

The defendant, a 31-year-old man, was found guilty of committing grave crimes against the sexual inviolability of a minor.

The investigation established that the perpetrator attacked the girl while she was returning home from school.

Information regarding the incident spread widely across social media networks, where it was also reported that the man had previously served a sentence for a similar crime and had escaped from a penal colony. This data was confirmed during the investigation conducted by the Internal Affairs Administration of the Tashkent Region.

The court classified the defendant's actions under Part 4 of Article 118 (Rape of a person under the age of 14) and Part 4 of Article 119 (Compelling a person into a sexual act in an unnatural form) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Taking into account his status as a dangerous recidivist, the court sentenced the man to 18 years of imprisonment.

The convict will serve the entirety of his term in a maximum-security penal colony of the special regime.

At present, the verdict may be appealed through appellate or cassation procedures in a higher court, specifically the Tashkent Regional Court.