'MRF – New Beginning' Proposes Harsher Penalties for Sexual Offences Against Children

Members of Parliament from the 'Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF)-New Beginning' group have submitted a bill to the National Assembly proposing significant increases in penalties for all sexual offences against children, both minors and adolescents, provided for in the Penal Code.

The bill’s explanatory notes highlight that the sharp rise in cases involving the use of minors for creating and distributing pornographic material online causes irreparable harm to society.

Currently, the Penal Code imposes relatively light punishments, and fines are minimal, the proposal states. In many provisions, there is no minimum penalty, and the maximum penalties are too low to ensure general deterrence. According to 'MRF-New Beginning', this creates a sense of impunity among offenders.

“We are convinced that such crimes must be punished with the full severity of the law to provide stronger protection for the most valuable and vulnerable groups in our society,” the party said in a statement.

The party also cited a recent case that shocked the public: the release of Alexander Evtimov, the director of Sofia’s 138th School, on a negligible monetary bail. He had been caught secretly filming school toilets with hidden cameras. According to Nikolay Nikolaev, spokesperson for the Sofia District Prosecutor’s Office, Evtimov is facing charges for two separate serious offences: possession of special technical equipment for covert information collection in his capacity as an official, and producing pornographic material involving minors.