In the Khmelnytskyi region, an investigation into the case of two employees of a psychoneurological boarding school, who are accused of transferring wards for forced labor, has been completed. The indictment has already been sent to court, the regional prosecutor's office reports.
According to the investigation, the head of the boarding school and a nurse organized a scheme between March and June of this year, in which two patients were transferred to an outsider to work on a private farm. The women took advantage of the trust of their wards and their vulnerable mental state: they persuaded them to wait for the "employer" outside the institution and go to work with him.
Law enforcement officers uncovered another transfer of patients in June and stopped the illegal activity. After that, a pre-trial investigation began, which confirmed the fact of labor exploitation and the role of the boarding school workers in this scheme.
The prosecutor's office charges the women with trafficking people for the purpose of labor exploitation, committed by a group of individuals in advance and taking advantage of the vulnerable state of the victims (Part 2, Article 149 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The law provides for a penalty of up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property for such actions.
The case will now be heard by the court.
