The Lithuanian Court of Appeal on Thursday upheld a seven-year prison sentence for former lawmaker Kristijonas Bartoševičius, convicted of sexual offenses against four minors, and imposed an additional five-year ban on working with children after his release.
The panel of judges rejected an appeal by the defence seeking acquittal.
Bartoševičius did not attend the hearing and will now serve his sentence.
According to presiding judge Linas Šiukšta, the prison term handed down by the lower court was appropriate. He said the appeals court only adjusts sentences when they are clearly too lenient or too harsh.
“The convicted person committed the crimes deliberately, against several children, and the offenses continued over two consecutive years, which shows the danger posed by his personality,” Šiukšta said in explaining the ruling.
The court partially granted the prosecutor’s appeal by adding a criminal measure prohibiting Bartoševičius from working with minors for five years after completing his sentence. It also increased compensation awarded to two victims’ representatives. In total, he must pay 32,000 euros in material and nonmaterial damages.
Defence lawyer Olegas Šibkovas said by phone after the ruling that he plans to appeal to the Supreme Court of Lithuania.
Commenting on the employment ban, the lawyer said similar restrictions are already envisaged by law for those convicted of such crimes and suggested the court’s decision duplicates existing legal provisions.
In July last year, the Panevėžys Regional Court sentenced Bartoševičius to seven years in prison and ordered him to pay nearly 28,000 euros in damages.
The court found that while serving in parliament, Bartoševičius raped one child while the victim was a minor and again after the victim turned 14, sexually abused three other minors.
The ruling was appealed by both the prosecution and the defence.
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