Child abuser Jakštys released early after Constitutional Court ruling

A former youth mentor, Remigijus Jakštys, convicted of sexually abusing minors, has been released early under conditional supervision following a Constitutional Court ruling that struck down an absolute ban on early release for child sex offenders, LRT.lt reports.

The court found that the blanket prohibition on conditional release for those convicted of sexual crimes against children violated the Constitution. The decision was confirmed by Mindaugas Kairys, director of the Prison Service.

According to prison data, 174 inmates are currently serving sentences for sexual offences against minors. Following the ruling, Jakštys—who filed the individual complaint—has been released. Two more cases are awaiting early release decisions, while 91 others are under review for eligibility.

Conditional release in Lithuania requires a low risk of reoffending or clear progress in reducing that risk. Eligibility depends on the portion of the sentence served: one-third for sentences under four years, half for sentences between four and 10 years, and two-thirds for sentences between 10 and 25 years.

Decisions on early release are made by prison directors or conditional release commissions, though courts can overturn them if prosecutors appeal. Once released, offenders are supervised by the Probation Service.

Raimundas Jurka, a lawyer and professor at Mykolas Romeris University, noted that the process for conditional release is already underway, with commissions gathering data on eligible inmates.

The ruling also affects inmates not yet eligible for early release. Those with no prior convictions, who are employed and pose a low risk of reoffending, may now be transferred to open prisons after serving a quarter of their sentence—rather than the previous three-quarters. This allows them to work outside prison, visit family, and have limited personal freedoms.

Criminologist Gintautas Sakalauskas, who provided expert opinion in the case, argued that the absolute ban on early release demotivated offenders from improving their behaviour or participating in rehabilitation programmes.

Kristina Mišinienė, head of the Centre for Combating Human Trafficking and Exploitation, warned that the ruling could enable offenders to “hunt for victims” sooner. She added that victims or their representatives are not consulted in early release assessments.