A criminal case has been opened against an investigator who ordered the release of a suspected pedophile in the Amur region a week ago.
Two other prosecutors are facing charges for refusing to take a statement from the mother of a 7-year-old girl who was sexually abused.
When local residents found out that the man accused of abusing her had been released, they gathered near his house and tried to attack him.
Police arrived at the scene to protect the man and had to restrain the crowd for several hours.
Late at night, they disguised him as a police officer and smuggled him out of the building. They took him to a local police station, where he confessed to the sexual assault of a minor.
Russia’s prosecutor general, Yuri Chaika, ordered prosecutors in Amur to keep the public informed about the case to prevent another lynch mob.
An amendment currently being debated by Russian MPs would introduce tougher penalties for convicted pedophiles.
Under the amendment, child-sex offenders would be punishable by life in prison. They would also be liable to chemical castration, though only with their consent and the agreement of a psychiatrist.
Furthermore, convicted pedophiles would not be eligible for parole. Currently, the maximum sentence for child-sex offenders is 20 years in prison.
Children’s rights activists have repeatedly pointed out that the current Russian laws are so slack that they allow criminals to continue committing offenses.