A Drunk Father Tortured His Young Son for Poisoning Other Children: Court Keeps Him Free

In the Mykolaiv region, the father of five young children stood trial for torturing his own son. While intoxicated, the man accused the boy of poisoning the other children, forcibly squeezed his face, made him eat an unknown root, and struck him with a wooden stick. The court sentenced the perpetrator to three years in prison but allowed him to avoid incarceration by imposing a one-year, six-month probation period.

The verdict was handed down on October 7, 2026, by the Voznesensk City and District Court of the Mykolaiv region.

A children’s outing ended in hospitalization

The story began on March 19, 2026. At around 2:00 p.m., several young children were playing near their homes. During the outing, two of them found the root of an unidentified plant and began eating it, assuring the others that it was sweet.

Soon afterward, both children were taken to the intensive care unit at the Voznesensk Multidisciplinary Hospital with a diagnosis of acute poisoning by an unknown plant-based substance.

That evening, at around 6:30 p.m., the father of one of the boys was at home with his young sons. The man was drunk and decided that his son was to blame for what had happened to the other children. In the father’s view, the boy should have looked after their safety and prevented the poisoning.

Instead of finding out what had happened, the man decided to punish the child.

He grabbed the boy’s face and forced him to eat the root

According to the circumstances established by the court, the father led the boy into one of the rooms, grabbed his face, and began squeezing it hard. He then forced his son to eat an unknown root—the same kind that, in his view, had harmed the other children.

The punishment did not end there. The man picked up a wooden stick and hit the child on the left shoulder.

After the incident, the boy’s mother reported her husband to law enforcement. She said that he had forced their son to eat an unknown plant-based substance and caused him bodily injuries.

Doctors recorded abrasions on the boy’s face and a 3 × 1.5-centimeter abrasion on his left shoulder.

A forensic medical examination conducted on March 23, 2026, confirmed two bruises on his cheekbones and another on his left shoulder.

The expert concluded that these injuries could have been caused by the face being squeezed hard with fingers and by a blow from a blunt object. They were estimated to have occurred approximately three to five days before the examination, consistent with the time of the incident. At the same time, the nature of the injuries ruled out their having resulted from an ordinary fall onto a hard surface.

The injuries were classified as minor, as their effects lasted no more than six days.

Regarding the diagnosis of acute poisoning with a severe course, the expert separately noted that it was not supported by objective clinical signs, making it impossible to determine the severity of the poisoning.

The children described what they had experienced, and their father admitted guilt

The evidence included not only medical records but also the children’s testimony.

On June 4, 2026, the accused’s two young sons were questioned under a special procedure at the Child Protection and Social and Psychological Support Center in Mykolaiv.

The center operates according to the Barnahus model, which allows necessary procedural actions to be carried out with children who have experienced or witnessed violence in a specially designed environment.

Video recordings of both interviews were reviewed in court. Together with the medical records and other materials, they confirmed the circumstances of the abuse.

The accused himself did not deny his guilt. In court, the man admitted to committing the acts described and said that he sincerely regretted them.

His actions were classified as torture under Part 1 of Article 127 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

Five children, remorse, and a positive character reference

During the trial, it emerged that the convicted man was born in the village of Novohryhorivka in Voznesensk District. He has a full secondary education, is unemployed, and has no criminal record in the eyes of the law.

The man married on February 21, 2023. He has five young children in his care.

He has a positive character reference from his place of residence. He is not registered with a narcologist.

The court took into account his family circumstances, living conditions, health, and financial situation. His sincere remorse was considered a mitigating circumstance.

At the same time, the court found two aggravating circumstances: the man committed a crime against a member of his own family and was intoxicated at the time.

It was also established that while abusing his son, the father understood what he was doing and was able to control his behavior.

Three years in prison—but he was not sent to prison

The probation authority concluded that the man could be rehabilitated without being isolated from society.

The prosecutor, the victim’s representative, and his legal representative supported this position. They also asked the court to impose a suspended sentence.

As a result, the court found the father guilty of torturing his son and sentenced him to three years in prison, but released him from serving the sentence on probation for one year and six months.

During this period, the convicted man must report regularly to the probation authority, notify it of any change of residence, employment, or place of study, and commit no new criminal offenses.

In addition, the man must complete a two-month program for perpetrators of violence. The Voznesensk City Council was tasked with arranging his participation.

No civil claim was filed in the case. No preventive measure was imposed on the accused during the trial, and the court found no expenses for engaging an expert.

Thus, despite the proven torture of his own child and the established aggravating circumstances, the man was given the opportunity to remain free. Whether he stays out of prison will depend on his compliance with the conditions of his probation.

The verdict in case No. 473/4069/26 may be appealed to the Mykolaiv Court of Appeal within 30 days of its announcement. If no appeal is filed, the decision will enter into force after that period expires.

We previously reported:

• Over a 10-year period: stepfather to go to prison for repeatedly raping his stepdaughter
• In the Dnipropetrovsk region, a man tortured a pregnant 16-year-old, pressing her hand against a stove burner
• Domestic violence in Korabelnyi: women, men, and children are all subjected to abuse
• Domestic violence: reports in Korabelnyi District have nearly doubled
• Domestic violence: 21 cases confirmed in Korabelnyi over three months