Beaten, starved and chained — in Dnipro, a couple is accused of torturing six children
Kyiv • UNN
Foster parents are accused of subjecting six children to years of beatings, starvation and cruel punishments. The case has been referred to court.
In Dnipro, two foster parents at a family-type orphanage have been accused of systematically torturing six children aged between 3 and 10. According to the investigation, from 2019 to 2024, the children were beaten, starved, humiliated and subjected to cruel punishments. This was reported by the Prosecutor General’s Office, UNN writes.
Juvenile prosecutors of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office have sent an indictment to court against two foster parents at a family-type orphanage. They are accused of systematically torturing six children aged between 3 and 10 (Part 1 of Article 28, Parts 1 and 2 of Article 127 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). According to the investigation, from 2019 to 2024, the children were systematically beaten, humiliated, deprived of food and subjected to cruel punishments
It is noted that the children were not addressed by name; instead, offensive and obscene nicknames were used. The girls’ heads were shaved, and they were beaten with rose stems. One of them was struck in the face with a twig because she had lost a needle she was trying to use to mend her clothes.
For “disobedience,” the children could be forced for weeks to sleep on a wooden bench without bedding and fed only bread and water. They were punished even for taking food without permission.
For the slightest offense, the children were beaten with a belt with a metal buckle, twigs, sticks and a carpet beater—sometimes with such force that it broke. One of the children said that a foster parent had run up and kicked him in the head, then continued beating him with his fists.
The children were also forced to kneel on buckwheat and walk on stones until they bled.
Among the most brutal episodes established by the investigation were punishments during which the children were put on a chain and forced to imitate animals’ behavior. Food was thrown onto the ground, and if a child did not pick it up, their face was pushed into the bread. After a walk with a dog, one of the boys was put in a collar.
In addition, the children were used as unpaid labor during repair work at the foster parents’ country house.
It became known only after the oldest of the children entered an educational institution and dared to talk about what he had experienced that this was what had been happening for years at the family-type orphanage
The foster parents were served with notices of suspicion in February this year. The pre-trial investigation has been completed, and the indictment has been submitted to court.
The family-type orphanage ceased operating. All the children were placed with new foster families.