Cry without help: why custody and neighbors have not noticed a family with "Mowgli children" for years

Residents of one of the houses in Murino, Leningrad region, found "Mowgli children" in their entrance. Three children between the ages of four and nine were in an apartment without parents among the scattered garbage. The children were smeared in feces, they had no food or water. According to the Izvestia source, the boys were kept in unsuitable conditions by their mother, who works as a doctor, and a criminal case of torture was opened against her.The woman could face up to seven years in prison, lawyers believe. How the suspect herself explains what happened, and other details of the story are in the Izvestia material.

How the "Murin mowgli" was discovered

In the Leningrad region, investigators have opened a criminal case into the torture of three young children. Three children between the ages of four and nine were found in one of the apartments of a high-rise building in Murino. According to the Izvestia source, they were alone for days, among piles of garbage, without clothes, water and food.

The apartment where the kids lived had previously raised questions from residents. For example, screams and children's crying could be heard from it every now and then, neighbor Ekaterina Alemskaya said.

— The child could cry for three hours, she said. — And about a month ago, unpleasant odors started coming from the apartment.

But the true picture of what was happening was revealed by chance when one of the boys, without clothes, ran out of the apartment into the entrance and began to pull the handles of the neighbors' doors. It happened on February 23rd when most of the neighbors were at home. After that, the tenants of the high-rise building called the police. While the boy was running along the corridor, and the neighbors were waiting for the police, the apartment door remained open.

— When we entered, we saw that a child of about five years old was sleeping on the floor, everything was in terrible, deplorable condition: things were scattered, urine was on the floor, dirt and debris were everywhere. The room is a horror, a pitch-black hell. There was no water, no food, nothing at all, — neighbor Olga Adamenko described what she saw

The live video clearly shows the condition of the apartment: concrete walls without wallpaper, dirty floor littered with garbage. There were no beds — apparently, the children were sleeping on the floor, on a pile of piled rags. Judging by the video, there is not even a refrigerator in the house.

At the same time, the children's mother, 41-year—old Maria Ivanova, is a general practitioner by training, and she is listed on the website of one of the Murino hospitals as a functional diagnostics doctor.

"We were going to do repairs..."

According to a law enforcement source, all three children were born to different fathers who do not keep in touch with them, and one of the boys is a surrogate mother.

The average child does not speak, does not understand speech, does not study anywhere — but he knows how to open the door and can eat himself, but he throws food everywhere, the source said. The youngest is at home — he does not go to kindergarten. The eldest child goes to school. According to the source, all children have severe developmental delay.

During the inspection, Maria Ivanova explained to the police that she lived in the apartment with her mother, nephew and three young children. She noted that the apartment was owned by her mother and assured that they were going to renovate it in the near future.

The woman blamed one of her children for the chaos in the apartment. According to her, the boy has a disability and is constantly making a mess (we are talking about a child born from a surrogate mother. — Ed.).

The woman explained her absence from home on Sunday afternoon by allegedly meeting with her employer. According to her, she went to it with her mother and nephew, and left the children under the supervision of her older brother (he is 9 years old).And when I called home after a while, I found out that the children had been sent to a medical facility.

According to investigators, Maria Ivanova "committed all actions intentionally, with the aim of causing mental suffering to children."

— She systematically deprived them of food and water, and also left them unattended in the apartment for a long period of time, in connection with which the minors experienced fear and mental suffering, the UK reported.

They added that they had prepared a petition to the court for the election of Maria Ivanova as a preventive measure in the form of detention.

What will the test show

After staying in a medical facility, the guardianship authorities handed over the children to the next of kin, the grandmother, the administration of the Vsevolzhsky district told Izvestia. As the check showed, the woman's apartment (this is a different housing than the "bad apartment") has proper living conditions for children. The live footage shows that the apartment has sleeping places and other furniture.

— Due to the fact that children have psychological abnormalities, they can be uncontrollable, grandma and mom can not always cope with them, — said the source. — That's why the apartment quickly gets into such a state. There is no way to clean up all this quickly.

But the decision to transfer the children to the grandmother is inconclusive. According to the source, the guardianship authorities are trying to remove the children from their grandmother and place them in a social rehabilitation center.

The Vsevolozhsk City Prosecutor's office organized an investigation into the incident. According to its results, an assessment will be given not only to the actions of the mother, but also to the work of the bodies for the prevention of neglect, guardianship and guardianship.

— According to the information received during the check, the family is not registered with the juvenile affairs unit. Based on the results of the audit, the issue of the responsibility of officials will be resolved," the supervisory authority noted.

The police drew up an administrative report on Maria Ivanova, but this is not the only thing that threatens her, Egor Panin, partner of Avex Yust, told Izvestia. According to him, there are two articles in the Criminal Code that can attract negligent parents.

— Article 156 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation — on improper performance of duties and ill—treatment of minors — is more lenient, it provides for a penalty of up to three years in prison, - said the lawyer. — And Article 117 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation — on the torture of two or more minors. Its composition is related to beatings or other violent acts and provides for a term of up to seven years.

Difficulties of proof

According to the lawyer, the "systematic deprivation of food and water for children" is closer to abuse than to other violent acts. Nevertheless, the investigation opened a case under the more serious article 117. Cases of child abuse are common in practice, but recommendations for their criminal assessment have not yet been developed. And both articles continue to "compete" with each other.

Besides, Egor Panin added, such crimes are difficult to prove. Children who have been victims of violence may be afraid to give truthful testimony or not realize what is happening as violence. Also, unlike physical violence, psychological violence leaves no obvious traces and is more difficult to document.

— An important element of evidence in such cases is a psychological examination, — said the lawyer. — It helps to establish exactly what kind of mental or emotional suffering the child has experienced and how this could affect his development and behavior.

During the inspection by the prosecutor's office, it may be established that the guardianship authorities did not take appropriate control measures over the family where the children were subjected to torture, and failed to protect their rights and legitimate interests, explained Ilya Drozdov, a lawyer at the Moscow Bar Association Union of Lawyers.

— If the fact of improper performance of official duties is established, the prosecutor may make a submission on bringing to disciplinary responsibility, he noted.

In the worst case, guardianship officials may be prosecuted for negligence in accordance with Article 283 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the lawyer believes.