A Ukrainian father-of-three who molested a woman at a busy London train station after fleeing to Britain as a refugee has been spared jail.
Andrii Starovoitov, 33, who was granted asylum in the UK despite being of fighting age in his home country, launched his attack after joining the queue for the female toilets at London Bridge station just after 7pm on October 26 last year.
Starovoitov, who is married with a young family, approached the woman from behind and groped her intimately in front of stunned passengers, including children.
And it can now be revealed that the burly migrant, who came to Britain around 18 months ago as war continued to rage in his home country, was a senior investigator with the Main Directorate of the Ukrainian National Police in Ternopil Region.
The shocking incident was captured on video, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard.
The victim told the court she was left feeling ‘degraded, humiliated, and violated’.
Starovoitov, whose job was not mentioned in court, was given a 12-month community order. Photos show him in police uniform as recently as September 2023. His wife Iryna is a district police officer having trained as a teacher.
The couple have three children, aged 13, 12 and two.
It can now also be revealed that the birth of the couple’s baby son in 2023, ten years after their second, meant that Starovoitov, who is of fighting age, was allowed to travel outside Ukraine, unlike most men who are obliged to stay to support the war effort against Russia.
Despite his ongoing charges and subsequent conviction, his family have been allowed to join him in the UK and arrived three weeks ago under the family reunification scheme.
Andrii Starovoitov, 33, (pictured) walked free from court after being given a 12-month community order for molesting a woman at a busy London train station
The Daily Mail can reveal that Starovoitov (circled) was actually a senior police officer back in his home country
Starovoitov, a married Ukrainian refugee and father-of-three, fled his native country around 18 months ago. Men with three or more children are allowed to travel outside Ukraine despite the war to support their families
Afterwards the 37-year-old married woman, told the Daily Mail: ‘Given the brazen nature of his attack I was disappointed and surprised that the punishment was so light.’
On being informed her attacker was a police officer, the victim said: ‘It is definitely not the sort of behaviour you would hope for from a senior police officer, nor a father of three.’
Men with three or more children are allowed to travel outside Ukraine despite the war to support their families. Starovoitov would be able to earn far more in the UK than his annual police salary of £8,200.
Pictures show a happy and loving family in Ukraine before the birth of their young son, and prior to the war.
They are from near the city of Chortkiv in western Ukraine which has been bombed by Russia in the war, but far less severely than many regions.
When he arrived in Britain at first, Starovoitov left his wife and children behind.
He claimed in mitigation that he was blind drunk because he was upset after a friend of his had died on the front line.
The victim told the Daily Mail in an exclusive interview: ‘I was heading home having seen a friend for lunch, it was about 6pm – so, early. I was going to get on the tube, and thought I better go to the loo, because it’s quite a long journey.
‘It was incredibly crowded and not the kind of situation in which you would feel at all unsafe.
‘I joined the ladies’ queue and I became aware that there was a man behind me. I turned around and said, “Excuse me, this is the queue for the ladies.”
‘He gave me a very odd smile, almost a grimace, which creeped me out.
‘I turned back around, and then he grabbed me, and I was very frightened, but it was bizarre, because there were women in front of me queuing into the toilet, and other women behind me.’
She said it was the complete lack of any attempt to mask his actions in such a public place that shocked her most.
Starovoitov (pictured) had been a senior investigator with the Main Directorate of the Ukrainian National Police in Ternopil Region
The attack happened after Starovoitov joined the queue for the female toilets at London Bridge station just after 7pm on October 26 last year. The incident was captured on video
‘The station was very busy, so I’m not entirely sure what he thought he would be achieving. I was very scared and I screamed out “What the f*** are you doing?”. The women in particular around me were amazing.
‘They gathered around me and one woman ran to get police. Another asked a large young man who was waiting for someone to make sure that he didn’t get away.’
The victim then went to the lavatory and when she emerged again, saw that the police were there and her assailant was being arrested.
‘The police were there very quickly and I can’t fault them. I gave a statement and so did several other women, even though it meant they missed their trains.
‘And there was a little boy who, his mother actually came to court to testify. He’d seen what happened and was too scared to go into the gents afterwards.
‘When I went to court, I was expecting to have to relive the whole thing again and be cross-examined, but at the very last minute he changed his plea, no doubt because the whole thing was on CCTV footage. At court was the first time I heard anything about him, and that he was in Ukraine.
‘I found the mitigation odd, because even if you’re drunk and upset about what’s happening in Ukraine, why should you go and sexually assault someone? Being drunk is never an excuse.
‘I also wondered why he was in Britain and not helping the war effort in Ukraine?
‘At the hearing, the judge told him that we take this very seriously and he might face a custodial sentence.
‘I know our prisons are woefully overcrowded, but given the brazen nature of his attack I was disappointed and surprised that the punishment was so light.
‘It also made me reflect that so many women friends have told me that similar – or worse – attacks have happened to them and nothing was done because perhaps there were no witnesses, or the guy got away or whatever.
‘My case was in a crowded station with loads of witnesses and clear CCTV, so I felt almost a sense of duty to persevere with it, but apart from being on the Sex Offenders Register for the next five years, I don’t think there was much of a deterrent delivered to this individual in the future.
‘I dread to think what he might have done had it been in a more secluded area or I had been alone. That thought was also why I felt I should persevere with the case.’
Chae Lee, prosecuting, said: ‘The victim found it odd that the defendant queued behind her.
‘She told him he was in the wrong queue, but he just grinned at her and when she turned around, he groped her buttocks and put one hand between her legs.
‘She was shocked and shouted “what the f*** are you doing?”. He did not act shamefully, instead he grinned at her again.
‘Lots of women rallied around the victim and she was able to get away. After she went to the toilet and came out, she noticed the defendant was still there.
‘He was leaning against a pillar and was grinning and waving at her. This took place in front of many people including an eleven-year-old boy.
‘The eleven-year-old boy made a point stating he did not want to go to the men’s toilet alone because he had just seen what happened.’
Wearing a blue jacket and dark grey trousers with black trainers, Starovoitov appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court this week.
He spoke only to confirm his personal details, aided by a Ukrainian interpreter.
The victim told the court she was left feeling ‘degraded, humiliated, and violated’.
She said: ‘The fact that it occurred in such a busy well-lit location has made me feel unsafe anywhere on public transport.’
Starovoitov, of Leyton, east London, initially denied but later admitted one count of sexual assault.
Theresa Hendricks, defending, said Starovoitov ‘was under a lot of stress’ after arriving in Britain.
Ms Hendricks said: ‘He left his wife and three young children and came here. At the time that was the best thing to do so he could financially support them.
‘But he found it extremely difficult to find work when he first arrived. The stress came from not knowing that his family weren’t in an area that was being constantly bombed.
‘He rarely drinks, but on this day he went out with a friend, clearly in a state because he was grieving for a friend who was killed on the frontline.
‘They had drunk enormous amounts of alcohol. He remembers very little about the incident.
‘His family joined him here three weeks ago under the family reunification scheme.’
Starovoitov pictured with his wife Iryna, who he left behind along with his children when he first arrived in Britain
Magistrate Jan Carr told Starovoitov: ‘We have listened to what has been said and the details of this offence, and we are going to deal with this offence by way of a community order.
‘The offence of sexual assault on a female is serious enough for us to make a community order.’
Starovoitov was handed a 12-month community order and must complete 15 days of rehabilitation activity and 80 hours of unpaid work.
He must also pay £325 in court costs, £500 in compensation to the victim, and a £114 victim surcharge.
A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘When foreign nationals commit serious crimes in our country, we will always do everything in our power to deport them.
‘This government deported almost 5,200 foreign national offenders in its first year in office, a 14 per cent increase on the previous year, and we will continue to do everything we can to remove these vile criminals from our streets.’
