Teenagers raped and beat a 12-year-old boy: the police did not start an investigation, but only fined the parents of the attackers UAH 850

The history of teenage cruelty is not new in Ukraine for a long time, but every such case still shocks society. Modern teenagers, growing up in the era of digital technologies, face many factors that contribute to the degradation of moral values. Playing on the edge of what is allowed, many of them do not realize the consequences of their actions, because they are confident of impunity. In our country, the laws regulating responsibility for the behavior of children and adolescents remain too soft, which only generates new waves of violence and impunity. This issue is especially acute when it comes to brutal crimes that cause irreparable damage to the lives and psyche of other children. Particularly indignant are the actions of the police, who did not start a pre-trial investigation, but only drew up administrative reports and issued the parents with small fines.
In June, in the village of Kotelva in the Poltava region, three teenagers committed something that is difficult to imagine in a civilized society – they beat a 12-year-old boy and raped him with a stick. This is not just an act of violence, it is bullying that violates human dignity. And even worse, the teenagers recorded the whole process on video and shared it among their friends, making a spectacle out of it.
This case has received wide publicity in society only now thanks to the fact that information about it was published on Instagram by Yaroslava Skorokhod.
Hence, a logical question arises: why did she become known only after a public outcry? Why did the law enforcement officers not start a pre-trial investigation, but only drew up administrative protocols against the parents?
The answer to these questions lies in part in our justice system. Ukrainian legislation stipulates that children under the age of 16 cannot bear full criminal responsibility for their actions, so their parents receive fines for “bad upbringing”. In this particular case, the parents were fined 850 hryvnias, which, in fact, looks like a mockery of the victim and her family. Is it any wonder that in a country where such crimes are punishable only by fines, the level of violence among teenagers is on the rise? This case is not isolated. Ukrainian teenagers have repeatedly become the heroes of the news due to brutal acts of violence, and most of them have avoided serious responsibility.
After the story gained publicity, mothers of other children gathered outside the police station to support the family of the injured boy. They demanded not only an honest and speedy investigation, but also a fair punishment for the perpetrators. But why does it take mass pressure to bring about justice?
Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets reacted to this situation, publicly expressing his dissatisfaction with the fact that the police began to act only after publicity.
“Terrible situation in Poltava Oblast: for beating and sexual violence against a minor, the perpetrators’ parents got away with a fine of UAH 850!
I learned from social networks that three young men were bullying a 12-year-old boy in the village of Kotelva. He was beaten and sexually assaulted.
As soon as I learned about it, my representative in the Poltava Region, Vladyslav Nosenko, together with the head of the Poltava District Military Administration, Dmytro Romanov, went to the place and talked with the head of the territorial community, the head of the children’s service and the head of the local police.
It was established that, according to representatives of local authorities and law enforcement agencies, the event took place in the middle of June this year. However, the law enforcement authorities learned about this fact only on August 5 and did not start a pre-trial investigation, but made administrative reports against the parents of the two boys. The parents were fined 850 UAH! At that time, they did not even try to identify the third guy.
Since when are the facts of sexual violence against children not investigated by law enforcement agencies within the framework of criminal proceedings?
And only when this event gained public publicity, the information was entered into the Unified Register of Pretrial Investigations under Part 4 of Article 153 of the Criminal Code.
Urgently prepared a letter to the leadership of the National Police with a demand to conduct an official investigation and bring the culprits to justice.” – reported Dmytro Lubinets in Telegram.
Adolescent violence is a mirror of the society in which we live. The situation in Kotelva is another wake-up call for the entire country. But whether our government listens to him depends on us. Only a joint struggle for stronger laws and fair justice can stop the rising tide of teenage violence.