Sentences for procuring are more lenient in Moldova than for trafficking in children

The phenomenon of child abuse is perceived by the Moldovan society as a disgrace. Many victimised children choose not tell their parents that they had been abused, while their parents would not report abuses to the police, out of the fear of settings tongues wagging, thus leaving many crimes unpunished, says Ion Oboroceanu, president of the Causeni-based Law Centre. During a training seminar on fighting sexual exploitation and abuses of children, which was held in Chisinau and brought together judges, law enforcement officers, representatives of the civil society and local authorities, Oboroceanu said many cases are not reported also because there is little trust in the law enforcement system and the lack of specialists able to work with victimised minors. Rodica Coretchi-Mocanu, manager of the Amicul Centre of the National Centre for Child Abuse Prevention, emphasised the usefulness of the seminar amid a constantly growing number of child abuse reports. It is very important that the training seminar is attended by court representatives, because the Centre has dealt with cases where charges were dropped and the abuser remained unpunished. Sometimes the testimonies given by children in court are not considered as evidence. There were cases when the pronounced sentences were too soft, for instance a paedophile got three years in jail for molesting a boy, with subsequent suspension of the prison term. When released, the molester continued to abuse sexually the same child and it took one more year to prove that fact and to make sure that the molester is sent back to prison. Dr. Xenofon Ulianovschi, judge at the Chisinau Court of Appeals, believes that the lack of established guidelines for sex-abuse trials in Moldova’s judicial practice is the reason why similar offences are charged and tried under different articles of the criminal law, and often incorrectly. For instance, offenders may get a softer sentence if convicted of procuring than in the case of trafficking in children. At the same time, Judge Maria Ghervas of the Botanica District Court considers that the court should take into account the gravity of the case, the personality of the offender, aggravating and extenuating circumstances when issuing the indictment. After combining these circumstances, offenders may get more lenient punishments; still it is important that judges insist that no offenders remain unpunished, said Maria Ghervas. She believes that the training programme is a good opportunity for judges to acquire knowledge and skills in hearing victims and trying abusers. It is difficult to hear testimonies given by very young victims and to question them so as to avoid hurting them more, especially when trials are attended by various persons like relatives, psychologists, guardian authorities, the judge says. Initiated by the UK-based Child Exploitation Online Protection Centre in cooperation with the UK Embassy in Moldova, the training programme will run until January 18. In the first half of this year, the programme will continue with two similar seminars, Info-Prim Neo reports.