In the Lviv region, an indictment has been sent to court regarding a specialist from the Children's Services of one of the city councils. The investigation believes that due to the improper performance of official duties, the official failed to take the necessary measures to protect young children from a dysfunctional family, which ultimately led to the death of a two-year-old boy. This was reported by the Office of the Prosecutor General, according to UNN.
Details
According to the investigation, in early February 2024, a two-year-old child was brought to the hospital in critical condition. Despite the efforts of medical professionals, the boy died approximately one hour after hospitalization.
As law enforcement established, the cause of death was a viral infection against a background of critical physical exhaustion, severe dehydration, and acute alcohol intoxication. At the same time, the alcohol level in the child's blood significantly exceeded levels permissible even for an adult.
The investigation established that the family, in which five young children were being raised, had been registered since September 2023 as being in difficult life circumstances.
"During inspections, unsanitary living conditions, lack of heating, facts of domestic violence, and alcohol abuse by the parents were recorded," the report says.
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The prosecutor's office notes that the responsibility for monitoring the children's living conditions was assigned to an employee of the Children's Services. However, she failed to provide proper supervision. In particular, during 2024, only four housing condition inspection reports were drawn up, and those were without dates, while inspections effectively ceased from the third quarter onwards.
Furthermore, the children's personal files lacked data on their health status and medical examinations. Despite the presence of obvious risks to the lives and health of the minors, no decisions were made regarding their removal from the dangerous environment or other protective measures.
The official's actions have been qualified as official negligence that caused the death of a person.
At the same time, a separate case regarding the parents of the deceased boy is already being considered in court. They are accused of malicious failure to fulfill child care duties.