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Russian courts introduce compulsory treatment rulings for pedophiles

The possibility of compulsory treatment for individuals suffering from sexual deviations was introduced into the country’s criminal legislation in 2012

MOSCOW, July 2. /TASS/. For the first time, Russian courts have ordered convicts sentenced for pedophilia crimes to undergo mandatory treatment, Elena Korobkova, head of the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service’s directorate organizing the execution of non-custodial sentencing, said in an interview with TASS.

"The Corrections Department is supervising how persons diagnosed with the disorder of sexual preference (pedophilia) undergo involuntary treatment imposed on them," she said. "Mandatory treatment was first ordered for such individuals in 2017. In 2017, only one person underwent it, while in 2018 - eight people did. The practice is gaining ground in such cases."

The possibility of compulsory treatment for individuals suffering from sexual deviation was introduced into the country’s criminal legislation in 2012.

The Russian Federal Penitentiary Service said earlier that the law stipulated a voluntary procedure for treating sex offenders. The law might include the possibility of taking preventive medication, including chemical castration. In this case, the treatment might be used following a request or the person’s consent to an examination diagnosing the disorder of sexual preference and to treatment ordered by a commission of psychiatrists. The treatment might be terminated based on a court order issued upon the fact that the person has been cured of pedophilia, which a commission of psychiatrists would determine after having examined the patient.

Korobkova said that mandatory treatment for drug addicts ordered by courts has been more widespread.

"In 2012, those individuals diagnosed as suffering from drug addiction were granted a chance to defer their sentence, and in 2014 courts were given the right to order involuntary treatment from drug addiction along with medical and social rehabilitation for non-custodial penalties and those who are diagnosed as drug addicts. If the number of persons suffering from drug addiction, who received a deferred sentence, remains the same (slightly more than 200 per year), then the number of those obliged to undergo treatment from drug addiction is on the rise - from 60 in 2014 to 841 in 2018," she said.