The key facts

  • On November 9, the Kokand prosecutor's office reclassified the case from Article 128 to part 4 of Article 118 of the Criminal Code
  • Under the new wording of the article, 15–25 years of imprisonment or life imprisonment are possible
  • The 22-year-old suspect has been in custody since September 30; the investigation continues

Case reclassified under a more serious article

The criminal case over the sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl at a hotel in Kokand has been reclassified under a more serious article of the Criminal Code. As reported by Daryo.uz, Kun.uz, Gazeta.uz and Zamon.uz, the children's ombudsman said. According to her, on November 9 the Kokand city prosecutor's office changed the qualification from subparagraph 'a' of part 3 of Article 128 (sexual intercourse with a person under sixteen) to part 4 of Article 118 (assault on the dignity of a person under fourteen).

What the new qualification changes

In practical terms, this means a substantial tightening of the possible punishment. Under the previous qualification (Article 128) the offence was punishable by imprisonment of 8 to 10 years, whereas under part 4 of Article 118 the penalty is 15 to 25 years of imprisonment or life imprisonment — these terms are cited by Gazeta.uz with reference to the press service of the children's ombudsman. It is also noted that the sanction of part 4 of Article 118 was tightened by a law of October 14, 2026, which entered into force on October 15: previously the maximum penalty under this article was 15 to 20 years of imprisonment.

Progress of the case and assistance to the victim

The incident occurred on September 28: the girl, born in 2012 and living in the Fergana region, was sexually assaulted at one of the hotels in Kokand. A criminal case was opened on September 29, and the suspect — according to the Prosecutor General's Office, which responded to a Daryo request, he is 22 years old — was detained, and on September 30 he was remanded in custody by a court decision. According to the children's ombudsman, the investigation is ongoing and initial investigative actions are underway. Staff of the National Agency for Social Protection are providing the victim with psychological and legal assistance, and children's ombudsman Surayyo Rakhmonova stated that, within her powers, she continues to monitor the protection of the girl's procedural rights.