A 73-year-old Chicopee landlord has been sentenced to two and a half years in the House of Correction after a jury convicted him of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, bringing a two-decade-old case back into the spotlight.
On Friday, a judge handed Anatoliy Kuzmenko a two-and-a-half-year term in the House of Correction, with two years to be served and six months suspended, followed by three years of probation. He must register as a sex offender and is barred from having contact with non-familial minors while on probation. The assaults were reported to police in May 2024 but prosecutors say they date back to 2001, and three siblings who were 5, 7, and 9 at the time returned to testify during a three-day jury trial.
Case and sentence
According to Daily Voice, a jury found Kuzmenko guilty on one of three counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, and the judge imposed a two-and-a-half-year sentence in the House of Correction. Two years are to be served behind bars, with six months suspended, followed by three years of probation.
As noted in a release from the Hampden District Attorney, District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni said the verdict both holds Kuzmenko accountable and highlights the “extraordinary courage” of the victims who came forward and testified so many years after the alleged abuse.
How the case came to light
Daily Voice reports that three siblings went to Chicopee police in May 2024 to report assaults they said took place in 2001 inside Kuzmenko’s home. At the time of the alleged abuse they were just 5, 7, and 9 years old. Prosecutors told jurors that Kuzmenko had been both the family’s landlord and their neighbor, and that the siblings are now in their early 30s and living out of state.
Legal consequences and next steps
In its statement, the Hampden District Attorney’s office said Kuzmenko must register as a sex offender and is prohibited from having contact with non-familial minors while he is on probation. If he violates those probation terms, the suspended six months of his sentence can be imposed.
Per the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry Board, registered offenders are classified by risk level and must verify their registration on a schedule tied to that classification. The Commonwealth was represented at trial by Assistant District Attorney Meghan Tessitore and victim-witness advocate Maggie Klassanos.
What prosecutors said
Prosecutors have praised the now-adult siblings for returning to Massachusetts and testifying about events they say happened when they were young children, saying the verdict reflects the evidence jurors heard over the three-day trial. Kuzmenko will serve the committed portion of his sentence at a county house of correction before beginning the probationary period set out by the district attorney’s office.
