On April 14, Vecherniye Vedomosti reported that the principal of a special school in Yekaterinburg has been suspended following reports of sexualized child abuse being carried out under the guise of "friendly trials", allegedly facilitated by one of the educators. As a result, a teenager has been placed under a two-month arrest on charges of child abuse.
According to Vecherniye Vedomosti, a mother of a student from special school #124 in Yekaterinburg reported sexualized child abuse to the Investigative Committee. Students allegedly reported that an educator arranged "friendly trials" and conducted a vote on punishment options for "guilty" students, which included sexual abuse.
It is presumed that regional authorities and school administrators were aware of the situation. At a general meeting, the principal reportedly asked the abused child in front of everyone, "Why couldn't you bite [his penis off] him ?" As a result, other children stopped communicating with the victim.
The victim has since been removed from the school and the principal has been suspended. The Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case, and one of the teenagers has been arrested for two months. The Children's Ombudsman for the Sverdlovsk region, Igor Morokov, stated that his office will investigate the matter.
Earlier, a ten-year-old child was raped in the national wrestling section of a Tuvan school in January. A petition was launched on the Change.org platform demanding punishment for those involved. Later, a criminal case was opened by the Investigative Committee. However, local residents suggest that the case was almost silenced due to the alleged high-ranking parents of the rapists. Following the public outrage in the republic, the Children's Ombudsman of Tyva, Sayzana Tovuu, resigned from her post.