Former teacher sentenced to seven years' prison time over pedophilia offenses
A court has sentenced a teacher in South Estonia to seven years' prison time after finding him guilty of pedophile offenses, Lõuna Postimees reported.
The Tartu County Court found former teacher Romet Pazuhanitš, 31, guilty of several crimes, and determined the prison time levied on him by maximizing the harshest of the individual sentences to meet the exact sentence sought by the prosecution.
The charge sheet found Pazuhanitš, arrested last June, had committed the crimes in southern Estonia while working as a teacher, youth outreach worker, and community leader, both in the school system and outside it – these involved "systematic sexual crimes against minors," which "must result in real imprisonment," prosecutor Jane Pajus said.
The repeated sexual crimes against minors, including sexual intercourse, involved an abuse of his position and trust: The court found Pazuhanitš had also encouraged minors to consume alcohol and systematically violated a restraining order already imposed on him.
The trial began behind closed doors in Valga in March under expedited proceedings using case-file materials only and no witnesses or experts, as both sides requested; this process cut Pazuhanitš's original 10 years and six months sentence by about a third to seven years, plus he must pay €12,000 damages to a victim, and €16,700 in legal costs.
The ruling can be appealed at the second-tier circuit court within 30 days.
--
Editor: Andrew Whyte
