Largely ignored by the media, the proceedings on a case of childcare workers charged with sexual abuse of their wards have resumed in St. Petersburg. The list of defendants includes five names: former administrators, employees, and wards of Orphanage No. 8 and the adjacent school. The trial has been ongoing for three years, but the verdict is nowhere in sight. Hearing after hearing, the victims, who were orphaned children, are shedding light on blood-curdling scenes of sexual violence. Throughout the investigation, the victims have been ostracized and even bullied.
The Insider has tried to explore why it is uncommon in Russia to believe child molesters' victims, what keeps them silent, and who the perpetrators of these vile crimes are.
Ordinary violence
Early in the morning on April 24, 2017, criminal investigators and case officers started kicking down the doors of apartments and organizations. According to their findings, in 2005 a ward of an orphanage in the Kirovsk District near St. Petersburg was “subjected to multiple violent sexual acts by a group of unidentified individuals”. The investigating team was also verifying information about other possible victims of the molesters. The case was placed under special supervision of the Central Investigative Department of Russia's Investigative Committee.
A while back, Yakov Yablochnik, former charge of Orphanage No. 8 in the Kirovsk District of Leningrad Region, ended up homeless and reached out to a relevant charity, the Nochlezhka [“Shelter”] Foundation. Charity workers recorded his account of scammers and “black-market realtors”. He also mentioned the system of violence at the orphanage. Yakov had reported the abuse to the director multiple times, but she chose not to believe him. The media, however, picked up his story in winter 2016 and gave it wide coverage. There was even a documentary and a theatre performance.
The office of Alexander Shilov, Ombudsman for St. Petersburg, took interest in the matter. His team was so shocked by the content of the documentary that they weren't even sure about making it available online. However, for Yakov, it was business as usual. “I left the orphanage in 2008, at the age of 17. Legally speaking, I was to reside in Yunost, a so-called halfway house, until I came of age, but I would be cohabitating with two boys who had sexually abused me at the orphanage,” he mentions in his confessional before moving on to more pressing issues. For instance, to the moment when he, already an adult, saw his biological mother for the first time from the orphanage balcony.
As to the instances of rape, Yakov doesn't say much, stammering and stuttering more than usual. He seems to realize what he sounds like and suggests possible titles for his bio: “I've got three moms”, “Spent half my life in an orphanage”, “Got scammed out of my apartment twice”, “Rampant child molestation in an orphanage”, “How I became a porn actor at 13”, or “How I ended up in a shelter for bums”.
After the materials of the documentary were forwarded to supervising authorities, eight criminal cases were initiated under Part 3 of Article 132 of Russia's Criminal Code. Late in April 2017, the investigators concluded that “a group of perpetrators engaged in regular violent acts of sexual nature in respect of four charges of the orphanage born in 1991–1995”. The investigators believe that the five victims were from 10 to 14 years old at the time of the crime. A total of about 40 boys were withdrawn from the orphanage immediately and received counseling.
In the meantime, five suspects were detained: Stanislav Vinogradov, 70, Honored Teacher of Russia and former headmaster of School No. 565 for orphanage charges; Mikhail Yelin, 46, senior childcare worker of Orphanage No. 8; Kirill Pokalyuk, 41, employee of the Mechta Halfway House; and two former charges of the orphanage, Andrei Solovyev and Pavel Prikashchikov. They were arrested and sent to a pre-trial detention facility on the same day but weren't charged until a year and a half later. As Yakov wrote, some of the younger detainees reported also being victims of the older ones.
Irina Gavrilova, Stanislav Vinogradov’s defense attorney: “Due to the irregularities of their psyche and memory, the victims are incapable of remembering what happened many years ago. They belong to a category of people who have trouble recalling what happened yesterday”
Irina Gavrilova, Stanislav Vinogradov’s defense attorney: “Due to the irregularities of their psyche and memory, the victims are incapable of remembering what happened many years ago. They belong to a category of people who have trouble recalling what happened yesterday.”
Stanislav Vinogradov was defended not only by his trial attorney but also by some of the victims, yet the judges weren't convinced. The Honored Teacher did not confess, claiming his “complete innocence”. Mikhail Yelin, former deputy director of the orphanage, denied everything too. “It's slander. I'm sure they will be more honest on second thoughts,” he kept saying from the dock. None of them plead guilty in court. The defense insisted that Yakov Yablochnik's primary motive was to obtain an apartment because, as a black-market realtors' victim, he was homeless; meanwhile, there could be no proof of sexual abuse, they said. The investigators presumed otherwise and initiated another criminal case under Part 2 of Art. 309 of the Criminal Code. The law enforcement officers were convinced that the children had been intimidated and forced to give false testimony.
Hard to believe
The public showed more trust to Yelin and Vinogradov than to the former orphans. Yakov was accused of self-promotion and mimicking the publicity stunt of Diana Shurygina, a scandalous victim of alleged rape. Why the other victims were seeking cheap publicity was hard to say. “Murky” is the most civilized word used in respect of Yakov in social media. His form teacher Nadezhda Frolova said the boy had always had a wild imagination, and now that he was 26, “not only his imagination is at play but his mental condition too”. Teachers of Kirovsk District wrote letters in support of the defendants and started support groups in social media; some of them are still active now, almost three years later.
Svetlana Kosheleva, former childcare worker at Orphanage No. 10: “I’d like to say he was the best colleague and the best pedagogue in my professional experience. For him, his work was a truly heartfelt effort"
As Anzhela Piazhe, psychologist of the Tebe Poveryat [“They'll Believe You”] project, explains, the defensive barrier kicked in: “There is almost no public debate on the issue of sexual violence against children as if it was an unspeakable phenomenon that exists only in a faraway, isolated world full of villains and perverts. For an average commoner, it is something that could never happen to them, something shocking, appalling, terrifying, and inconceivable. 'I don't want to think about it or to imagine it could apply to me or my life. Because I don't know what I would do in such a situation in the first place.'
For an average commoner, sexual abuse is something that could never happen to them, something shocking, appalling, terrifying, and inconceivable
Dmitry Gerasimov, a trial attorney of the Agora International Human Rights Group who represents Yakov Yablochnik and Stanislav Yegorov, was also unsurprised to see former orphans and orphanage workers side with the defendants: “The defendants' teaching record is indeed impeccable; it is beyond any doubt that they are qualified, experienced pedagogues. They seem to be decent people; no one would ever think they are capable of what Yakov and other victims say they were doing. This is why some of the former charges of the orphanage are outraged at the idea.”
Truth is power?
Personally, Yakov Yablochnik limits his accusations to Kirill Pokalyuk, the orphan who lived in the Mechta Halfway House – this is what he said on camera. “He would book a sauna or take me to apartment block staircases. I was 13. He kept doing it until 2008, the year when I finished school,” Yakov explained. According to him, Pokalyuk first approached him in the orphanage toilet, where 13-year-old Yakov was washing his socks, and forced him to oral sex. When Yakov started shouting, he threatened him with mental asylum. Many years spent at the orphanage had taught Yakov to fear such institutions. He was sent there often enough as it was, for sabotaging classes and other forms of bad behavior. According to childcare workers, he was a cute, artistic kid but prone to acting up. “He made us laugh at first, but then we started realizing his behavior was scary. So we sent him to a psych ward,” confesses an employee of the orphanage where Yakov spent his childhood.
Another criminal case was initiated against photographer Alexander Brykov, whose 'casting' Yakov attended at the behest of a childcare worker at the age of 13. However, Yakov holds no grudge against him, as the photographer helped him earn money for his sick mom. “I saw it as work, as acting of sorts. You go there; they shoot a video and pay you; you're free to leave. That's it. It wasn't rape like at the orphanage. They paid us 500 rubles [$8] per hour. It was a fortune,” recalls Yakov. As the investigators found out, in 2005–2008, the photographer brought underage charges of Orphanage No. 8 to his apartment and made porn movies to sell them abroad. In his own defense, Brykov says the teenagers engaged in sexual intercourse with him voluntarily.
Sexual abuse of a minor is an act of violence committed by an adult or an elder adolescent against the minor with the intent of sexual stimulation. Sexual abuse implies involving a child in sexual practices aimed at the physical satisfaction of the perpetrator or out of financial gain. The forms of child sexual abuse include offering or forcing a minor to perform sexual practices (regardless of the outcome), demonstration of one's genitals to them, demonstration of pornography, sexual contact with the minor, physical contact with the minor's genitals, visual examination of the minor's genitals without physical contact, and exploiting the minor for production and creation of child pornography.
When the story became public knowledge, Yakov quickly ceased all contact with the media due to “certain events and skewed facts” and refused to appear on Pust Govoryat [“Let Them Talk”], a prime-time talk show notorious for its coverage of high-profile scandals. Now that the proceedings have resumed, Yakov spent four hours giving his statement, after which he left the country. He says he has no more energy left for this case. Trial attorney Gerasimov says his clients are depressed and the proceedings have been exhausting. By contrast, the investigators are vigorous and determined. “The Investigative Committee of Russia ensures thorough investigation of crimes against representatives of socially disadvantaged groups. Investigators are doing their best to look into every such incident and to bring to justice everyone who has unscrupulously violated the rights of such a vulnerable social category as minors, especially wards of the state.”
Ordinary people
In 2017, 4245 children in Russia suffered from sexual abuse, with about 1800 younger than 10 years old, according to State Duma deputy Irina Yarovaya. She has brought forward a bill on imposing a life sentence for such crimes committed against minors under 14 years old and the abolishment of a time limit for pressing charges since many victims dare to speak about the experience only as grownups. If the assailant shared a home with the child, raised or taught them, it should be considered as an aggravating circumstance, according to the sponsors of the bill.
The Investigative Committee has records of over 7000 cases investigating child sexual abuse in 2017. However, the actual state of affairs may have little to do with the official statistics, says counselor Anzhela Piazhe: “As far as I know, even the law enforcement does not have access to comprehensive data analysis.” In the USA, where the legislators are taking active steps to combat child abuse, relevant authorities frequently complain of inadequate resources. They are barraged with reports, in particular, on distribution of photos and videos of child sexual abuse, but their resources allow them to investigate only 2% of such cases,” writes the NYT. Meanwhile, online content featuring scenes of sexual violence against children has grown by 45 times over the last decade.
— According to Darkness to Light (USA), around 90% of underage sexual abuse victims know the perpetrator personally
— About 30% of victims are abused by their family members
— The younger the victim, the higher the probability that the perpetrator is a family member. In 50% of cases, children under the age of 6 were abused by their relatives
— Around 60% of victims are sexually abused by people who enjoy the trust of the victims' families
— Homosexuals are less prone to pedophilia than heterosexuals
— Approximately one child in 10 becomes a sexual abuse victim before they turn 18
— 70% of child molesters attack an average of nine children; 20% have 10–40 victims.
Why is it so hard to obtain statistics on violence? Because children get raped not by strangers in dark alleys but by close relatives or meaningful adults in their life, someone who has authority or credibility in the eyes of the victim. “It's almost always about authority. The abuser reacts to the potential victim being close and vulnerable. Who could be more vulnerable than a child in your charge? Objectively speaking, most adults are perfectly capable of deceiving a child by hoodwinking or intimidating them. Perpetrators pick children as victims not necessarily out of lust for puerile bodies but because children are vulnerable and it's easy to feel in control,” the psychologist explains. In her professional experience, Anzhela has encountered only a few cases in which the perpetrators, judging by what was known about their behavior, had pedophilic disorder. Others were, in her words, “ordinary people”.
“Why didn't they say anything?”
The situation with abuse victims is a lot more complicated. No one teaches children how they can explain what happened to them. They are sometimes just short of words to describe what is wrong. Not all perpetrators assault children in an evident way and start raping them. “By contrast, sexual abuse often happens gradually, step by step, with increasing intimacy of seemingly random touches. The child cannot say anything specific because they don't have a clear understanding of what is being done to them,” explains Anzhela Piazhe. If such a child is isolated in a public childcare institution, they have it even worse.
Questions like “Why didn't you tell us before?” seem rather logical for an outsider, but they aren't for an abuse victim. The taboo and the stigma surrounding such crimes prevent people from sharing their experiences. “People do their utmost to forget, to push these memories out of their mind and to restore a semblance of normal life. Of course, many are also afraid of aggressive questioning and accusations,” explains Anzhela.
The taboo and the stigma surrounding such crimes prevent people from sharing their experiences
Those brave enough to speak up after so many years can be accused of lying, doctoring facts, or even a desire to monetize their publicity. It is scary that people won't believe you or will tell you it was your own fault. Some are only capable of sharing a traumatic experience after they've grown up and undergone personal counseling — as soon as they feel supported and realize what happened to them wasn't normal.
“Victims are eaten away by an immense feeling of shame and guilt that is falsely instilled by their abusers, manipulators who convey the following to their victim, if not in so many words: 'it's our secret', 'you wanted it too', 'they'll put us in prison', or 'mom won't survive it'. It takes the victim many years to realize none of the above was true. As an adult, someone who has strength and independence, may have read a few relevant books or consulted a therapist, or has simply grown incredibly tired of keeping the secret may try to break the vicious circle of silence,” explains Anzhela Piazhe.
For most people experiencing abuse in their childhood is unambiguously traumatic. It would be wrong to presume that 100% of victims suffer from an identical set of consequences, but most adults who experienced sexual abuse as children say they find it hard to build relationships and to trust people; they are too self-critical and prone to self-blame.
“This is how our psyche works: whenever we survive a serious trauma, it doesn't disappear, no matter how many years have passed and or hard we are trying to forget or disregard it. It's still there, like an elephant in the room, affecting our behavior and reactions, sometimes unbeknownst to us,” says Anzhela.
As the psychologist clarifies, everyone can develop defense mechanisms to deal with the trauma, but even after many years, the best way is to get counseling.
What can be done?
Attorney Dmitry Gerasimov admits that such cases are extremely hard to prove, especially after so many years: “There are no eyewitnesses; no witnesses at all. And no forensics to back the case either.” According to him, the biggest challenge was not to identify the victims but to get statements from the five people who are now reviving the most horrible episodes of their childhood in the courtroom. They have a new life; they have families, and their past is a nightmare they would hate to become public knowledge. “Want me to tell you what happened? Why? What for?” In Anzhela's experience, few believe the perpetrators will receive punishment, especially after such a long time. By contrast, many people fear that dragging such stories out in the open can bring bad luck. If you consider how exhausted the trial participants are at this point, this superstition has a ring of truth to it.
Not everyone needs to fight, but everyone needs support and affirmation of the basic principles. The blame and the liability for violence fall on its perpetrator. It is a crime
“For many victims, the reaction of the public and their families and participation in court proceedings and criminal investigations is a huge emotional burden. They are forced to act contrary to the strategy they have been pursuing their entire life – to conceal, to forget, to sweep under the rug. They risk getting condemnation instead of support. Not everyone has enough strength and motivation to keep fighting. Moreover, not everyone needs to fight, but everyone needs support and affirmation of the basic principles. The blame and the liability for violence fall on its perpetrator. It is a crime,” underlines the psychologist.
Many victims keep silence because they once attempted to tell their story to a friend or family member and didn't get support. This was what happened to the abused orphans who complained to Natalia Fedorova, the director of Orphanage No. 8. She confessed that, starting from 2003, orphanage charges would “regularly” approach her and complain of “someone sexually abusing them”. She dismissed their words because “they had a history of mental disorders and varying degrees of mental deficiency, had developed hypersexuality upon hitting puberty and were therefore prone to sexual fantasies” – all the more so because the teachers and childcare workers they were mentioning had an impeccable record. According to the authorities, the director's failure to act resulted in seven teenagers, including Yakov Yablochnik, continuing to suffer from sexual abuse, both at school and at the orphanage. The time limit for the director's case has expired, so her criminal negligence will go unanswered.
By Marina Ivanova
