Russia: priest convicted over a boy sent to stay overnight so he could serve the liturgy

Proceedings

1. 2025-07-09 · conviction; sentence reduced on appeal, conviction upheld

   Sovetsky District Court of Omsk; Omsk Regional Court, Russia. Nikolai Babura, a priest in Omsk, was convicted on 9 July 2025 of depraved acts and attempted violent sexual acts against a boy under fourteen — a twelve-year-old altar server whose parents let him stay overnight at the priest's home so he could serve morning liturgy — with a second minor victim recognised in the record. He received nine years in a strict-regime colony, a fifteen-year ban on church and minor-related activity, and damages. In November 2025 the Omsk Regional Court reduced the sentence to eight years while upholding the conviction.

Appellate history

1. 2025-11 · undefined

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Documented coercion mechanisms

• parents' trust in their priest, who hosted their twelve-year-old overnight so he could serve morning liturgy