He was also placed under probation supervision for four years and six months.
The court sentenced the other defendant in this case to imprisonment for nine years and ten months, as well as probation supervision for five years.
It will be possible to appeal the verdict in the Riga Regional Court. The prosecutor’s office is satisfied with the court’s verdict and does not plan to file a protest, the prosecutor’s office assured the LETA agency.
It has already been reported that initially three persons were accused in the criminal case – men born in 1945, 1955 and 1958. On June 7, 2019, the criminal proceedings against one defendant – born in 1955 – were terminated due to his death.
Consequently, two persons have been accused of sexual violence in a group of persons. One of the persons is also accused of human trafficking. The Criminal Law provides for deprivation of liberty for a period of three to 12 years.
According to the indictment, the criminal offenses were committed in the period from 2017 to 2018.
One of the accused carried out the gratification of sexual desire in an unnatural way, using the trust and dependence of the minor victim. According to the prosecutor’s office, the crime was committed in March 2017 in a group of persons after a prior agreement.
On the other hand, in the period from the end of 2017 to August 2018, this person satisfied his sexual desire in an unnatural way, using the helplessness and trust of another victim. This crime was also committed by a group of persons after a prior agreement. The LETA agency is aware that this crime is directed against a mentally ill man.
Zeiļa also committed a crime against the mentioned man, according to the information available to LETA agency. The sexual acts took place in the building belonging to the Roman Catholic parish of Our Lady of Sorrows in Rēzekne.
Zeilis has been accused of human trafficking and satisfying sexual desire in an unnatural way in a group of persons, using the helpless state of the victim.
Zeilis spent some time in custody, but was later released on bail of 5,000 euros. During the investigation, several searches were carried out both in Riga and Rēzekne, as a result of which various video and photo files were seized, in which pornographic materials were found. In the criminal proceedings, money over 20,000 euros and gold coins worth almost 10,000 euros have been seized.
Latvian Television previously reported that one of the victims, who has now reached adulthood, grew up in the orphanage system, spending almost his entire life in orphanages and nursing homes. He has been diagnosed with mental retardation, but the capacity to act has not been taken away, so he was allowed to leave the territory of the nursing home freely during the day to go about his business. It was in this way that the guy met his perpetrators at the Riga bus station – two elderly men over 60 years of age, named Pēteris and Aivars.
The victim said that at first he didn’t even really understand that something illegal was being done to him. The kidnappers even arranged for him to be discharged from the nursing home and move to live with them permanently, then they began to lead him around and “sell” him to other persons, including to a pastor, whose name the victim did not know, but he recognized from the picture that it was Zeilis . The boy was taken to Latgali by train. The man was physically affected, and money was also paid to him – once he was paid five euros, other times he received cigarettes.
The boy managed to free himself from captivity only after he told about the incident to his friend from the orphanage, who started an independent life outside the system. A friend informed a non-governmental organization about what was happening, which in turn contacted the police.
2024-09-27 14:56:29