In Rivne region, court denied mother probation after 3-year-old daughter fell from window

The Rivne appellate court reviewed the appeal of a 24-year-old resident of Kostopil, whom the court of first instance found guilty of willful neglect of parental duties that resulted in serious consequences. This was reported by the court. 

Case circumstances: inadequate child care and serious consequences

According to case materials, in September 2025 in Kostopil, a 24-year-old woman who systematically left her three-year-old daughter without proper supervision, failed to provide sufficient food and clothing, and evaded parental responsibilities, again left the child for several hours under the supervision of a third party. While no adults were nearby, the girl, being in the kitchen, climbed onto a wooden chair near an open window, stood on the windowsill, lost her balance, and fell from the sixth-floor window onto the roof of a hair salon. As a result of the fall, the child sustained serious bodily injuries.

The criminal case materials established that the woman consciously neglected her parental duties and did not provide proper living conditions for the children. She kept the dwelling in a neglected state, did not care about sanitary and hygienic conditions, and did not provide the children with enough food. Although her husband, who served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, regularly sent money, food in the house was minimal, and prepared meals were often absent.

Furthermore, the woman systematically exposed four minor children to danger: leaving them for extended periods under the supervision of a third-party man of questionable reputation or completely without adults at home or in the yard. She also failed to fulfill financial obligations, including not paying utility bills, which led to repeated electricity outages in the apartment, creating unacceptable living conditions for the children.

The child services registered the children as being in difficult life circumstances; based on the established circumstances, decisions were made to place two children in a medical facility for health examinations, and one child was placed in a foster family.

Currently, all four children are under the care of their father.

Appellate court upheld the verdict

As a result of the court proceedings, conducted by the court of first instance under Article 349 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine due to the recognition of the inadvisability of examining evidence regarding factual circumstances that were not disputed by any participants in the proceedings, a guilty verdict was issued against the citizen and a punishment of two years imprisonment with actual serving was imposed.

Disagreeing with this decision regarding the imposed punishment, the accused filed an appeal requesting to be released under Article 75 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine from serving the sentence with probation, establishing a probation period of one year.

After reviewing the verdict within the appeal, considering the arguments of the defense and prosecution, the panel of judges concluded that there were no grounds to change the verdict or apply the institution of release from serving the sentence with probation to the accused.

The Rivne appellate court left the verdict of the Kostopil District Court of Rivne region dated April 9, 2026, against citizen Ch. under Article 166 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine unchanged, and her appeal was dismissed.

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