MOSCOW, April 4 (RARSI) – The State Duma Committee on Women, Family and Youth Affairs has recommended the lower house of parliament to adopt a bill on life sentence for child molesters in the first reading. The committee’s opinion has been published on the website of the State Duma legislative activity. 

The draft law submitted to the State Duma by a group of MPs including Irina Yarovaya is aimed to enhance measures for children protection.

The initiative envisages punishment up to life sentence for sexual abuse of a child if it is resulted in grievous bodily harm or death of a victim.

Under the bill, commission of sexual crimes against minors by family members and distribution of materials with sexual content and inducing minors to sex through the Internet would be considered as aggravating circumstances.

Moreover, the document stipulates penalties for concealment of these serious crimes.

The draft law also suspends a statute of limitations for crimes against children until they attain the age of majority.

According to the Investigative Committee’s statistics, the number of sexual abuse of children has increased. In 2017, investigators opened 7,011 criminal cases over sexual crimes against minors as compared to 5,835 in 2016.