Ukrainian mother freed by St Albans judge to try to rescue daughter
- Published
The judge said "simple humanity" meant he had to give Olga Khomenko a suspended jail sentence
A mother convicted of abducting her daughter has had her two-year prison sentence suspended so she can try to rescue the girl from war-torn Ukraine.
Olga Khomenko, 37, admitted child abduction at St Albans Crown Court.
The court heard Khomenko, a Ukrainian national, took her daughter out of the UK in 2017 in breach of a court order.
Judge Michael Kay QC, said he had "never known a sentencing exercise in which the issue of saving a child in a foreign country" had been a factor.
He sentenced Khomenko to two years in prison, suspended for two years.
The judge said "simple humanity" informed him that the only appropriate sentence would be one which was suspended.
The court heard there had been an acrimonious breakdown between the child's father and mother.
Prosecutor Rebecca Fairbairn told the court the defendant was arrested after a European Arrest Warrant was issued in 2019.
In a victim impact statement the child's father said the defendant's actions had left him in "severe distress".
Judge Michael Kay QC said the sentence he handed down was a "one off" in a "unique situation"
Defence barrister Stephen Vullo QC asked the judge to suspend any sentence because his client was the child's best chance of escaping the war in Ukraine.
He told the court the girl was living with her grandmother "within earshot of missiles raining down".
In his sentencing remarks, Judge Kay said the court was faced with an "extraordinary situation" where there was a mother in this country and a child in Ukraine in a war-zone.
He added: "It's a decision that I'd be amazed if any crown court has made before.
"These are extraordinary times."
The judge said the sentence he handed down was a "one-off" in a "unique situation".
"If there is any chance of the child being saved the court must take it," he added.
At the end of the sentence hearing, the judge said he wished the defendant "every success" in trying to get her daughter out of Ukraine.
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