In the Khmelnytskyi region, a teacher was found guilty of assaulting a student over a souvenir knife
A court found a vocational and computer science teacher at a school in the Khmelnytskyi region guilty of causing minor bodily injury to an 11-year-old student. The incident occurred during a school field trip and involved a souvenir knife; however, the teacher was exempted from punishment because the statute of limitations had expired.
The incident occurred on March 25, 2024, during a school field trip to the historic part of Kamianets-Podilskyi.
The teacher forcibly attempted to take a souvenir knife from the student, which the boy had purchased shortly before in the city of Khotyn, Chernivtsi Oblast. Based on witness testimony, the court determined that the teacher used force against the boy while trying to take the souvenir knife away.
The minor victim told the court that he had not been waving the knife around but had merely intended to show it to his friends. According to him, the teacher grabbed him by the ear and neck and slammed his head against a bench twice while trying to take the souvenir knife.
The teacher himself did not admit guilt. According to him, he was merely trying to take the knife away because he believed the boy could have injured other children. The teacher also denied that he had grabbed the child by the neck.
However, the court based its decision on the testimony of the victim and two minor witnesses, the results of forensic medical examinations, investigative reenactments, and a video recording of the incident’s conclusion.
The teacher was ordered to pay approximately 1,000 UAH in material damages to cover the costs of the child’s medical examinations and treatment, 25,000 UAH in moral damages to the victim, and over 16,000 UAH in state expenses for conducting forensic examinations.
The court considered it an aggravating circumstance that the offense was committed against a minor and in the presence of other children. The teacher was fined but exempted from punishment due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.
Source: Judgment of the Kamianets-Podilskyi City and District Court
As a reminder, former judge Vyacheslav Dzyubin was sentenced to 7 years in prison for bribery.
According to a response to our publication from Lilia Yakimyak, deputy head of the Secretariat of the High Council of Justice, in reply to a journalistic inquiry, no specific timeline has been provided for the completion of the disciplinary complaint against Marmash. Such a prolonged delay in reviewing the complaint may be a demonstration of collusion and a reluctance to hold accountable a “convenient” judge who willingly carries out tasks assigned by unscrupulous law enforcement officials.
The complaint against Marmash is that he issued his ruling after the deadline for the pretrial investigation had expired, thereby making it impossible to grant the relevant motion. The only lawful option in such a situation was to return the motion; however, Judge V.Y. Marmash failed to comply with the requirements of the law.
