Russian court judges married couple for abuse against their daughters

A Russian court is trying a police officer and his wife over years of alleged abuse of their daughters, with sex toys reportedly found during a search of the family’s home.

In the Sverdlovsk Regional Court, the man is accused of molesting his stepdaughters, and the woman, who has taken the blame, is accused of concealing the crime, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

The married couple from Nizhnyaya Salda was arrested last April on charges of years of sexual crimes against minors.

According to the case file, 41-year-old police dog handler Andrei V. and his 36-year-old wife, Anastasia (names have been changed), were raising five children, while the man abused two of his stepdaughters for years.

Anastasia's eldest daughter remained silent about the abuse for a long time, but eventually told her aunt, who then contacted the police.

"It was a shock for us. Especially since Andrei worked in the police. And the fact that Nastya repented and took the blame," said a friend of the couple.

Andrei is charged with 27 counts of violent sexual acts with minors (clause "b" of Part 4 of Article 132 of the Russian Criminal Code), two counts of sexual assault with multiple minors (clause "b" of Part 5 of Article 132), five attempted rapes of minors (Article 30, clause "b" of Part 4 of Article 131), rape of a minor (clause "a" of Part 3 of Article 131), rape of a minor (clause "b" of Part 4 of Article 131), and indecent assault by a group (Part 4 of Article 135).

His wife faces 35 similar counts and two more under Article 156 of the Russian Criminal Code (failure to fulfil responsibilities for the upbringing of minors).

According to lawyer Sergei Kolosovsky, even if Anastasia was not directly involved in the child abuse, she can be considered an accomplice.

The press service of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Sverdlovsk Region did not comment on the investigation's findings.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov