As stated in the press release issued on Wednesday, prosecutors are requesting to annul the verdict of the Lithuanian Court of Appeal, which softened the sentence, and to uphold the first instance court’s verdict.
The case established that the convicted person assaulted victims walking alone in Vilnius and other locations during 2022–2023.
A. Vasilevskis had previously been convicted for a series of sexual offenses and served a long-term prison sentence.
In many cases, he wore a medical mask, carried a knife or another sharp object, threatened the victims, forced them to go with him to secluded places, demanded that they undress or expose their bodies. Some of these criminal acts were not completed because the victims resisted, started shouting, escaped, or others intervened.
A. Vasilevskis had previously been convicted for a similar series of sexual crimes against minors and served a long-term prison sentence.
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Most of the new criminal acts examined in the recent case were committed before he finished serving the sentence imposed by the previous verdict – towards the end of it, when the convicted person was given the opportunity to resocialize in freedom.
The first instance court found A. Vasilevskis guilty of sexual assault, attempted sexual assault, attempted robbery, and minor mental health disturbances of the victims. He was sentenced to a final combined prison term of 10 years and 2 months and was recognized as a dangerous recidivist.
In May of this year, the Lithuanian Court of Appeal reclassified some of A. Vasilevskis’s criminal acts under the Criminal Code articles concerning the sexual abuse of a person under 16 years old, restriction of personal freedom, threats, and public order violations.
The final prison sentence was reduced to eight years, and the recognition of the convicted person as a dangerous recidivist was revoked. Currently, with the verdict finalized, he is serving his sentence in a penal institution.
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