Russian Soldier Sentenced for Sexual Assault and Robbery
Perpetrator identified by survivor after he failed to log out of Google account on her stolen phone.
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A Russian soldier has been sentenced to ten years in prison for sexual assault and robbery carried out in the Sumy region in March 2022.
Private Pavel Prikhodko, 23, was identified by the survivor of the attack after he failed to log out of the Google account on the phone he stole from her.
Details that could identify the survivor and her location have been withheld to ensure her safety and anonymity.
At the time of the full-scale invasion, Prikhodko served as a senior reconnaissance operator in the 1st Tank Regiment of the 2nd Guards Tamanskaya Division, part of the 1st Tank Army of Russia’s Western Military District. A native of the Chistoozernoye settlement in Russia’s Novosibirsk Oblast, Prikhodko now resides in the settlement of Tabulga, according to his social media profiles.
The towns and villages of the Okhtyrka district in the Sumy region were under occupation for over a month, from February 24 to April 6, 2022. During that time, Russian troops stationed military equipment in private property, looted residents’ homes and took civilians captive.
According to investigators, in March 2022 Prikhodko stopped the woman on the street in an occupied village and ordered her to hand over the mobile phone she had in her pocket. The woman, who went out each evening to find a signal to call her family, pleaded to keep the phone. The Russian soldier refused. Fearing the consequences, the woman gave him the phone. The man forced her to unlock the device and changed its settings, gaining full access to the smartphone. He then threatened the survivor, warning that he would shoot her in the knees if she resisted, and led her to a kindergarten basement, where he sexually assaulted her. The woman fled the village shortly after the incident.
After her town was liberated, the survivor regained access to her phone number. She discovered that the occupier had not logged out of her Google account but had merely changed the password. This allowed her to sign back in. A photo of a man then synced to her Google Photos via the cloud, and the woman recognised the face of the soldier who had assaulted her and taken her smartphone during the occupation.
She also found his search history: the Russian soldier had been looking for where to exchange Ukrainian hryvnias for roubles in the Russian city of Belgorod, where to sell gold and how to refuse to serve in the ongoing conflict.
Investigators determined that the accused had used the stolen phone to call his mother in Russia after inserting his own Russian SIM card. The device was traced using the survivor’s unique mobile identification number.
An analysis of Prikhodko’s social media revealed a photo on his VKontakte page showing him in military uniform and holding a weapon. Additionally, the InformNapalm channel on Telegram published a video of the Russian soldier boasting to a friend about goods looted from Ukraine. This video was also used as evidence by the prosecution in court.
According to the investigation, the regiment in which the accused served crossed into Ukraine on the morning of February 24, 2022. Less than a month later, on March 20, 2022, the unit retreated back towards Russia.
The court found Prikhodko guilty, rejecting the defence’s claim that the Russian serviceman believed he was participating in training. According to the court, the body of evidence confirmed that the actions of the accused were deliberate and aimed at committing a crime during the war in Ukraine.
Prikhodko was notified of the date, time and location of the trial, as required by law, through public summonses. These notices were published in the Uriadovyi Kurier as well as on the websites of the court and the Prosecutor General’s Office. During the pre-trial investigation, the investigators determined that Prikhodko was in the Russian Federation and placed him on a wanted list.
As Prikhodko failed to appear for court hearings, the court decided to try the case in absentia. He was represented in court by a state-appointed defence attorney from the Free Legal Aid Centre. The hearings were held behind closed doors to ensure the survivor’s safety.
On August 19, the Trostianets District Court found him guilty in absentia of the cruel treatment of the civilian population, under part 1 of Article 438 of the criminal code of Ukraine, and sentenced him to ten years in prison.
The verdict can be appealed within 30 days of the ruling. If upheld, the sentence will begin from the moment he is detained.
