Russian prosecutors have demanded a 29-year sentence for a self-confessed pedophile who was arrested last year on charges of sexually abusing a seven-year-old girl and then released without trial, sparking a public outcry, a spokesman for the Amur Region Prosecutor’s Office said on Tuesday, Jan 10.

Alexei Zhitsky, 40, was arrested in July 2011 after the girl’s mother reported him to the police, but was released the next day for lack of evidence.

However, word of his release spread and Zhitsky was lucky to avoid falling into the hands of an angry crowd of several hundred locals who blocked his house and threatened to kill him. After being arrested again, Zhitsky admitted to raping the girl, as well as to carrying out a murder back in 2009. He later recanted the murder confession.

An investigator who ordered Zhitsky’s release following his initial arrest has been fired, and two other police officers involved in the case have been charged with abuse of office. Criminal cases were been initiated against prosecutors who rejected a report filed by the girl’s mother following the rape, but the charges were later dropped.

The spokesman for the Prosecutor’s Office said the verdict in the case was expected to be announced during the next court session scheduled for January 16.

The relatives of the abused girl have demanded 3.5 million rubles (some $110,000) in compensation from Zhitsky, RIA Novosti reported.