The guardian from Nova Lyalya, who turned children into "guinplens," was sentenced to a long term.

      The Verkhoturye District Court issued a verdict in a criminal case against a resident of the Novolyalinsky urban district, accused of sophisticated abuse of children officially under her guardianship.

      The accused established guardianship over five minors. For a long time—from 2012 to 2020—she used trivial reasons to apply a whole system of punishments aimed at causing particular physical and psychological suffering.

      For more than 8 years, the convicted Inga Kostyukevich tortured each of the 5 wards, reports the press service of the Sverdlovsk region courts. Punishments followed for bad behavior at home and school, and for failing to fulfill household duties.

      Thus, as punishment, the woman dragged the children by their hair, inflicted multiple blows with her hands, brooms, shoes, plastic sticks, nettles, and a ballpoint pen, left them without food for long periods, forcing them to watch her eat on their knees. Kostyukevich forced the children to kneel with their hands tied, including on peas, and to squat for long periods with their hands raised.

      She poured cigarette butts and ash on their heads, doused them with urine, and forced them to smear feces on their faces. Additionally, at the accused's demand, the wards inflicted multiple blows on each other, bit each other's heels, and, holding the corners of their mouths with their hands, stretched their mouths and spat into them.

      Subsequently, one of the children developed a mental disorder in the form of persistent personality changes due to prolonged exposure to the syndrome of severe abuse.

      In cold weather, she took them out into the snow and doused them with cold water, forcing them to sleep on the cold floor. One of the children was locked for a long time in an uninhabitable room without heating.

      The woman was found guilty under paragraphs "a" and "g" of part 2 of Article 117 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (torture, in relation to two or more knowingly minor persons) and paragraphs "b" and "z" of part 2 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (intentional infliction of serious harm to health, resulting in mental disorder, in relation to a minor, with suffering for the victim, using objects as weapons).

      The court sentenced the defendant to 8 years in a general regime correctional colony and ordered her to pay compensation for moral damages to the victims in the total amount of 3.4 million rubles. The verdict has not yet entered into legal force.

      Previously, a similar guilty verdict issued by the Verkhoturye District Court was overturned by the court of cassation, returning the criminal case to the prosecutor for a more serious charge.

      The court also issued 4 private rulings addressed to the heads of 2 schools, the police, and the Department of Social Policy of the Ministry of Social Policy of the Sverdlovsk Region No. 14. The court drew the attention of officials to the shortcomings in their work that contributed to the commission of the crimes.