Lithuanian Supreme Court upholds conviction of man who danced naked for minors

The Lithuanian Supreme Court has finalised the conviction of Algimantas Ulvidas, ruling that his imprisonment for exposing himself to underage girls was lawful, state news agency ELTA reports.

In a non-appealable decision on Thursday, the court upheld a two-year and five-month prison sentence for Ulvidas, who was found guilty of corrupting minors. However, it overturned a previous ruling that classified him as a repeat offender under updated criminal law provisions.

“Under the new criminal code amendment, the aggravating circumstance—that he committed the act as a repeat offender—has been removed,” court representative Tautvilė Merkevičiūtė told ELTA. Other parts of the verdict remain unchanged.

Ulvidas has maintained his innocence, claiming the girls contacted him voluntarily and denied any wrongdoing. “They were making fun of me, yet I’m the one punished,” he told ELTA.

The case centred on allegations that between October and December 2022, Ulvidas repeatedly transported groups of three to four girls under 16 to secluded areas in Kaunas district. There, under the pretext of dancing, he exposed his genitals, performed sexually suggestive acts, and engaged in behaviour deemed to corrupt minors by encouraging premature sexual interest and distorted views of gender relations.

Ulvidas admitted to undressing but insisted the girls claimed to be 16, appeared mature, and initiated contact for entertainment. He also cited mental health diagnoses, arguing he lacked criminal intent. Court records show he had ten prior convictions before this offence.

Two victims were awarded €500 each in non-pecuniary damages; a third claim was dismissed. In a separate but similar case, Ulvidas received over six years in prison, though that verdict is not yet final. He was acquitted in another instance where prosecutors failed to prove he knew the victims’ true ages.