In Kharkiv, a child services official was notified of suspicion following the death of a 4-year-old boy
Kyiv • UNN
A Kharkiv social services official is suspected of negligence that led to the death of a child. For years, she ignored signals regarding the danger to the boy's life.
In Kharkiv, the head of a district children's services department has been served with a notice of suspicion in the case of the death of a 4-year-old boy who fell from a high-rise window in May of this year. According to the investigation, the official failed to respond to signals regarding the danger to the child for a long period and took no measures for his protection. This was reported by the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office, according to UNN.
On the afternoon of May 7, 2024, in Kharkiv, a 4-year-old boy, while in a fourth-floor apartment, climbed onto a windowsill in a room, lost his balance, and fell from the window. The child died in an emergency medical vehicle from the injuries sustained. The following day, the head of the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office, Yuriy Papusha, informed that the boy's mother had been served with a notice of suspicion and detailed other circumstances of the crime,
During the investigation, it was revealed that the tragedy could have been avoided if the head of the district children's services had not ignored signals regarding the danger to the child's life for years.
The family first came to the attention of social services in June 2023, when the boy was removed from his mother near a landfill with a hematoma on his head and an inguinal hernia, while the woman and her partner were collecting cardboard.
Despite the fact that the family's income consisted of only 860 hryvnias in social assistance and the mother demonstrated low parenting potential, the official initiated the return of the child to the woman barely a month later. The service submitted a corresponding motion to the commission, during which the official remained silent about the boy's physical injuries, failing to ascertain their origin,
In November 2023, the head of the service turned a blind eye to an official letter from a children's hospital. Medics raised the alarm because the boy was diagnosed with a condition that required urgent surgery. During examinations, the mother appeared unkempt, shouted at her son, failed to provide necessary vaccinations, and later even stopped answering calls from social service workers.
During a home inspection, social workers discovered a complete lack of food in the house, which the official was informed of in writing. Despite this, she did not address the issue of the immediate removal of the boy and took no other measures for his safety.
Subsequently, the official completely ignored the approved individual social protection plan for the child in difficult life circumstances — the document contained no marks regarding its implementation, adjustments, or reporting.
From January 2024 until the tragedy in May 2024, the head of the service lost contact with the family entirely and limited herself to formally sending requests to the police once a year, completely ignoring her oversight duties.
Due to such inaction, the official was not even aware that in July 2023, the woman had given birth to another child, whose life was also placed at risk.
It has been established that if the official had properly performed her duties and timely removed the boy from the dangerous environment, his death could have been prevented.
Under the procedural guidance of the Novobavarska District Prosecutor's Office of Kharkiv, the official has been served with a notice of suspicion for official negligence resulting in the death of a person (Part 3 of Article 367 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
The issue of suspending the suspect from her position is currently being decided.