Lithuanian man accused of 13 offenses, including child kidnapping, violence

VILNIUS - The case of a Lithuanian man charged with 13 criminal offenses, including a minor's kidnapping, has been referred to court, prosecutors said on Tuesday.

"The person (Gediminas Filipavicius) is charged with 13 criminal offenses," Rimas Bradunas, a chief prosecutor from Kaunas Regional Prosecutor's Office, told journalists on Tuesday. "We are talking about the kidnapping of a child, unlawful deprivation of liberty, causing a minor injury, robbery, illegal possession of a firearm."

The prosecutor could not disclose all the charges because of the protection of the victims.

According to the prosecutor, the victims, the girl and her parents, have also filed a civil claim for the compensation of pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages.

More than 30 witnesses have been questioned during this pre-trial investigation.

According to Bradunas, "a rather large number" of digital media belonging to Filipavicius were seized during the investigation. The prosecutor did not specify whether pornographic content was found on the media.

Filipavicius has been in custody since January 9 when he was found with the girl in a garage in Kaunas after a several-day search.

The man underwent a forensic psychiatric examination in late February. In May, prosecutors said the man was competent and would stand trial.

A separate pre-trial investigation involving Filipavicius was launched following reports that in early 2023 he claimed to be a doctor who could cure autistic children aged 2-5 years old through touch or identify health problems from a photograph, was the investigation was eventually dropped.