A court in Moscow has handed down an eight-year prison sentence to a 32-year-old native of Uzbekistan following an attempted sexual assault in the Russian capital. The Babushkinsky District Court found the defendant guilty of violent sexual offences targeting a 19-year-old female victim within the Yauza Park area located in the north-eastern district of the city.

According to local media reports, the incident took place in May as the young woman was walking home after visiting a cinema. Wearing headphones and listening to music, she reportedly failed to notice the assailant approach from behind. The perpetrator allegedly began harassing her and attempted to drag her forcibly into nearby bushes before her screams for help drew the attention of two passing bystanders who managed to detain him and hand him over to law enforcement.

During subsequent interrogations, the suspect purportedly denied all allegations against him. He claimed that after consuming several cans of beer and missing curfew at his dormitory, he had simply intended to sleep on a park bench and only approached the victim to ask for directions to the metro station. However, consistent testimonies provided by the victim and the two eyewitnesses thoroughly dismantled this defensive narrative.

One of the intervening bystanders stated that his decision to step in was driven by a haunting memory from two decades prior, when a friend's wife was attacked and killed in a park while no one came to her aid. The case adds to a series of stringent rulings involving foreign nationals across the country, following a previous incident in Vladivostok where a local court increased prison terms for three other Uzbek citizens convicted of gang rape.

Source: podrobno.uz