News

The Saratov Territory Office of the Investigative Committee continues the investigation against a 45-year-old woman from Balashov District suspected of a failure discharge the duties of bringing up a minor under Article 156 of the RF Penal Code.

In December 2016, media reported about outrageous tortures of a 14-year-old girl by her mother that were taking place in Balashov District and about an investigation opened in it by the police. Considering wide response from the public and to find out all the circumstances surrounding the incident, the Saratov Region Office of the Investigative Committee requested the prosecutor’s office to take the case away from the police and pass it on to the Investigative Committee. By now the case has been taken over by the Saratov Office.

According to investigators, on 21 December 2016, the woman hit her 14-year-old daughter several times with a wooden object. She did that to allegedly punish the teenager for lying to her mother. Then the woman stripped the girl of her clothes and turned her outside. From time to time she let the girl in to beat her and then sent her out again to stay in freezing cold. She did that for 8 hours. The girl suffered frostbites to her toes. The next day at school she felt worse – she practically couldn’t walk and told her teachers about it. The girl was taken to a hospital and the school administration reported the incident to the police.

At present, the teenager is staying at a specialized facility and getting all necessary psychological help. Soon the mother will be stripped of custody over the girl. The Investigative Committee has always responded to any reports on crimes against minors quickly and toughly. The suspect denied any charges claiming that she had never laid a finger on her daughter. A forensic medical examination is underway to determine the severity of bodily harm done to the girl. In addition, the investigators are going to give a principled legal assessment to the actions of social services. All necessary investigative operations are underway to collect and document evidence.