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- Eternal intrigues: a St. Petersburg woman who disappeared nine years ago may be deprived of her children
Eternal intrigues: a St. Petersburg woman who disappeared nine years ago may be deprived of her children
A resident of St. Petersburg who disappeared in 2016 and has been hiding for nine years may probably be deprived of her parental rights for refusing to register her children, lawyers interviewed by Izvestia believe. The girl ran away from home at the age of 16 because of a bad relationship with her mother and has not been in touch with her relatives since. During this time, she gave birth to two children, but did not issue birth certificates for them. Accordingly, they could not receive the medical care and other social services they were supposed to receive. Now the guardianship authorities will be required to check the conditions of detention and upbringing of minors. About how the girl lived these years and what threatens all the participants in the story — in the material of Izvestia.
The father delivered the baby at home
In St. Petersburg, the case of Victoria Konetskaya, who was found in Sestroretsk after nine years of searching, is being investigated. The girl ran away from home when she was 16 years old, and after that she did not get in touch with her family. During this time, the missing woman had two children who are now living without documents.
The last time relatives saw Victoria was in December 2016 at the children's hospital, where she had to undergo surgery on her knee, which she had injured at school. Her friend helped the teenager escape.
"We've been friends for seven years. Nobody really knew about her," Victoria explained to the investigators. — I told her the situation, she gave me her push-button phone with a SIM card. Said: "Take it, it's already been paid for a month." I called her and told her that I would run away for a few days, so that when they found me, I could explain the reason why I ran away. Then I'll explain everything, and maybe they can get through to my mom.
On December 25, 2016, the girl deleted her social media page, borrowed clothes from a roommate and left the hospital, allegedly to go to the store. As Victoria admitted, she was afraid that after the operation she would remain permanently disabled, so she decided to run. After the girl was put on the wanted list, her friends and acquaintances told investigators that she was offended by relatives who forgot to congratulate her on her birthday. The situation was also aggravated by the tense situation in the teenager's family — at that time, 16-year-old Victoria's mother allegedly abused alcohol and could snap at her daughter over small things, a source told Izvestia.
After the disappearance of the girl, a criminal case of murder was opened. Law enforcement officers interviewed hundreds of witnesses, Victoria's father and stepfather were tested on a polygraph to be excluded from the list of suspects. Volunteers helped in the search, guidance was given, the girl was put on the federal wanted list, and Interpol was also requested — to no avail.
For nine years Victoria hid and hardly went outside. After moving to Sestroretsk, the girl met a young man in a fast food restaurant. A relationship began between them. At the age of 18, she gave birth to a child, then a second. The source of Izvestia reported that Victoria had been living without a passport all this time. The birth took place at home, the boys' father took them: it was "a little sick, but tolerable," Victoria described the process to the investigators. Her children have never received medical care, they did not go to kindergarten, and they were not officially registered.
"She just went into the life that seemed more right to her,— said Victoria's roommate. — Probably, there were some certain nuances in childhood. Many people have a very difficult childhood. Maybe it wasn't the hardest family. But I know about moral abuse, there was overprotection. She escaped and went consistently to the end.
Now Victoria will probably have a difficult meeting with her family, who have been looking for her for many years. Victoria's mother Olga told Izvestia that she had not yet seen her daughter, but had spoken to her on the phone. As the woman admits, she still does not understand why the girl ran away from home.
— Maybe she wanted a different life. Maybe someone encouraged her (to escape. We, the parents, are to blame for something, maybe we did something wrong," the mother said.
What threatens the girl for the lack of registration of children
In early June 2025, the girl was captured by a surveillance camera with a facial recognition system. She was picking up a purchased ottoman from the pick—up point - at that moment, the camera captured the missing one, the source said. The operatives established her address and invited her to the criminology department for investigative actions.
"As the found woman explained, she really voluntarily left the hospital because of disagreements that arose in the family, also because she did not want to have surgery. Before reaching the age of majority, she secretly lived with a friend, not wanting to return home, and no illegal actions were committed against her. Investigative actions aimed at completing the investigation of the criminal case are currently underway," the Investigative Committee said.
Victoria's mother told Izvestia that she blames herself for her daughter's disappearance. According to her, the girl left on her own initiative. Now she and her roommate are engaged in the restoration of documents. Their eldest child will soon have to go to first grade.
Keeping children without registration and documents can be considered as a failure to fulfill parental duties, lawyer Mirza Chiragov told Izvestia. In this case, the mother may be held administratively liable.
"If it is established that the children were in conditions threatening their life or health, criminal proceedings may be initiated under the article on ill—treatment," the expert noted.
In addition, the guardianship authorities may take the initiative to restrict or deprive Victoria of parental rights for improper performance of parental duties. However, according to Mirza Chiragov, this is an extreme measure — a girl can legitimize her position by completing the necessary documents.
According to the law, an application for the birth of a child must be submitted in the first month of his life, lawyer Yana Vorobyeva reminded. Otherwise, the father and mother may be held administratively liable for failure to fulfill their maintenance and upbringing duties.
"Without registration of the fact of birth, it becomes very problematic to realize many of the rights of a child," she explained. — If the parents have not applied to the registry office to register the child, then we can talk about a violation of his rights — to a name, medical insurance, social benefits and education.
Judicial lawyer Lyubava Trofimova added that the fine for late registration of children is only 200-500 rubles. At the same time, the limitation period for bringing to administrative responsibility is two months.
"Since a lot of time has passed since the birth of the children, it is no longer possible to hold the parents accountable," she pointed out.
Is the mother of the found woman facing punishment
If it is established that the girl's mother facilitated her departure from home or prevented her from returning, she may be brought to administrative responsibility, Mirza Chiragov noted. And if it is proven that the mother mistreated her daughter, for example, humiliated her dignity or used violence, the woman may face criminal liability for abuse.
— All these factors can be considered as the reasons for the escape. However, given the statute of limitations, it will be difficult to establish the facts. The girl herself is not in danger of running away from home," the specialist concluded.
Veronika Polyakova, a criminal defense lawyer, has a similar point of view. According to her, bringing the mother to criminal responsibility is possible if it is proved that one of the reasons for the escape of the 16-year-old teenager was an abusive upbringing. But in this case, the statute of limitations for criminal charges has already passed, so the mother will not be responsible, she said.
Responsibility for the loss of a child may be assigned to the medical institution from which the minor escaped, Yana Vorobyova pointed out.
"What responsibility the health workers face will depend on the circumstances under which the child disappeared," she said.
For example, it may be negligence or improper provision of services, the lawyer believes.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
