The police promise that after a complete and impartial pre-trial investigation, each participant in the beating of the girl in Bila Tserkva will be held accountable.

This was stated by Viktor Luhovyi, head of the investigative department of the Main Directorate of the National Police (GUNP) in the Kyiv region, during a briefing regarding the pre-trial investigation into the torture of a minor in Bila Tserkva.

Luhovyi noted that there is information circulating in the media suggesting that the parents of the participants in the torture of the 12-year-old girl may be officials or law enforcement officers.

In this context, he emphasized that currently, the pre-trial investigation body has no information indicating that any of the children, whether victims or participants, have parents in local government bodies, executive authorities, or law enforcement structures. At the same time, some parents serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, some have already passed away, and others are unemployed.

As Luhovyi mentioned, according to part 2 of Article 127 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, punishment ranges from 5 to 10 years of imprisonment, while part 4 of Article 189 provides for imprisonment from 7 to 12 years with confiscation of property.

"I want to reiterate that we have identified 10 participants in the conflict. All their personal details have been established. The identities have been confirmed. Investigative and procedural actions are being conducted with them. I want to emphasize that the perpetrators of the criminal offenses are not children," Luhovyi stated.

He also noted that the participants in the conflict were aged between 12 and 16 years. One participant, who is 16 years old, has been formally suspected as he is considered a perpetrator of a criminal offense.

Luhovyi assures that after a thorough and unbiased pre-trial investigation, every participant in the beating of the girl will be held appropriately accountable, and the possibility of holding their parents accountable will also be considered.

The participants in the torture of the girl had not previously come to the attention of the police and were not registered.

All motives for the torture are being investigated, including the version regarding the girl’s refusal to use narcotic substances. At the same time, the investigative bodies currently have no information about any specific motivation for the victim to use narcotic substances.

The police state that if such facts are confirmed, there will be immediate action within the framework of current legislation. "We understand that deviant behavior among children cannot be tolerated," Luhovyi said.

No searches have been conducted at the suspects' locations as of now.

What else is known about this situation

As reported by UNIAN, minors gathered in a local park in Bila Tserkva, where they invited the 12-year-old victim. Subsequently, to intimidate the girl, one of the suspects, a 16-year-old boy, threatened, hit the girl, and sprayed pepper spray in her face.

This boy also psychologically pressured the girl and demanded 15,000 hryvnias from her.