Police open criminal proceedings against director Bilous, who was accused of harassment
10 February 12:57
Law enforcement officials have opened a criminal investigation against Andriy Bilous, a lecturer at the Karpenko-Kary National University of Kyiv and director of the Young Theater. This was reported by the capital’s police, although they did not name the defendant, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.
At the same time, a source told hromadske that it was Andriy Bilous.
The police say that law enforcement officers learned about the alleged harassment in the university from social media.
The police also received complaints from former students and the administration of the university.
Investigators opened criminal proceedings under Article 153 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – sexual violence.
The police are talking to students and graduates of the educational institution, teachers and the university administration.
The pre-trial investigation is ongoing.
What is known about the scandal
A teacher at the Ivan Karpenko-Kary National University of Kyiv and artistic director of the Young Theater Andriy Bilous was accused of sexual harassment by a girl who did not give her name. The video was posted on a YouTube channel called Bilous’ Rapist.
The anonymous girl claims that Bilous allegedly sent her photos of other female students’ private parts and asked her to send the same.
According to journalists, the video was recorded by 23-year-old Sofia Sapozhnik, who previously studied at Andriy Bilous’s workshop at the Karpenko-Kary Kyiv National University of Art and Technology and now lives in Los Angeles.
She confirmed everything that she had previously said in the anonymous video and reported new facts. In particular, she notes that Bilous offered students to swim naked in the lake.
The university stated that they had not received any official statements about this and added that they had contacted the police. The YouTube channel, which promises “full-scale disclosure of evidence” of harassment by Bilous, was created in November 2020.
The teacher noted that he had filed a police report.
“I filed a report with the police, they are investigating. I don’t comment while the investigation is ongoing,” Bilous said, without specifying what kind of statement he had filed with law enforcement.
What is known about Andriy Bilous
Andriy Bilous is a Ukrainian director, theater teacher, actor, playwright. He is an Honored Artist of Ukraine. Winner of the Oleksandr Dovzhenko State Prize.
He was born in Vasylkiv, Kyiv region, on April 28, 1976. By education, he is a drama and film actor, and studied at the Karpenko-Kary Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts. Bilous began teaching at his alma mater in 2005.
Currently, he works as the artistic director of the Kyiv National Academic Young Theater and teaches directing and acting at the Karpenko-Kary University and is the head of the Andriy Bilous Theater Workshop at the university.
