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Investigative Committee charges woman from Magadan Region who starved child to get social payouts

The Head Office of the Investigative Committee has charged adoptive mother of an 11-year-old boy from Magadan Region with malicious injuring and fraud under part 4 of Article 159.2 and part 2, item “b” of Article 11 of the RF Criminal Code after the woman tortured the boy.

According to investigators, the accused came up with a way to make a profit out of the state budget in the period before 29 December 2008. To do that she devised a cruel scheme of getting disability allowance and other social payouts provided under the law on protection of people with disabilities. She didn’t tell anything about her plans to her husband and adopted a boy from Magadan. Then the woman started starving the boy and giving him medicines to make it look like he had a gastrointestinal-tract disease. Having deceived medical workers this way, she ensured that on 25 October 2010, the child was registered as a disabled for one year and started receiving allowances, compensations and other social payouts. The woman continued maintaining the boy’s condition for almost seven years so that he could retain the status of a person with disabilities.

As a result, the child developed a disease connected with extreme starvation, as the food he had been getting from the adoptive mother was enough only to meet minimum biological needs. The woman’s actions caused the boy grievous bodily harm dangerous for his life.

The woman defrauded the federal budget of more than 1.5 million rubles by filing false information with the Magadan Pension Fund Office and Magadan Social Center in the period between 13 November 2010 and 15 August 2017.

A court has ruled to place the woman in custody pending trial.

After the woman’s rights as an adoptive parent had been terminated, the boy was handed over to another woman who is now taking care of his physical and mental health, giving him necessary support and affection. Fortunately, the boy feels well now.

There is also an ongoing investigation in negligence under Part 1 of Article 293 of the RF Criminal Code against officials of guardianship authorities who had taken the decision to give the child to the adoptive family.

 

Spokesperson for the Investigative Committee                                                                                 Svetlana Petrenko