They suffered in hooliganism, robbery, theft, fornication, domestic violence
In the conditions of marriage – left unsupervised, or live as a married couple without being 16 years old.
Children become victims of various crimes, including robberies, thefts, fornication, hooliganism. They are assaulted on a daily basis of various types, although brutal cases of domestic violence are mainly reported in the media.
A check by “24 Chasa” showed that for 2023, the total number of crimes registered against children was 1,799. The authorities uncovered 876 offenses against minors.
Statistics kept by the National Children’s Network show that the number of victims last year was 1,893 – 824 minors and 1,069 minors.
According to the National Statistical Institute, the victims are less – 1300, but with the clarification that the victims registered with them start from the age of 8.
Figures from the National Children’s Network show that there were three intentional murders of minors, one attempted murder, 111 robberies, 294 thefts, 129 cases of fornication, 16 rapes, 311 bodily harm, 53 hooliganism. 45 are crimes related to domestic violence – 1 murder and 37 bodily injuries. The number of crimes against marriage, family and youth is high. 485 such were carried out. They are under Art. 176-179 of the Criminal Code. They are imposed on persons who force another to enter into marriage by using force, threats or abuse of power, taking bribes or kidnap to force someone into marriage.
Penalties are aggravated when the crime is committed by a parent, other relative or guardian of the child.
In the figure of 485 crimes against marriage, family and youth, of which minors and minors were the victims, there are also under Art. 181-193 of the Criminal Code. For example – a parent or guardian who leaves the child without supervision and sufficient care, thus creating a danger for his physical, mental or moral development. Also a woman who consents to the sale of her child at home or abroad. Charges can also be brought against someone who arbitrarily took into their home or kept with them a foreign child under the age of 14 without returning them to their parents, guardian or notifying the authorities immediately. In the same articles of the Criminal Code, there is also the charge of involving the child in systematic begging. An adult who, without having entered into a marriage, lives on a conjugal basis with a girl who has not reached the age of 16 can also become a defendant. According to these articles, the charge is also for a person who, without proper permission, employs minors.
According to NSI data, the largest number of minors and minors who suffered from crimes in 2023 are in North and South-Eastern Bulgaria.
The latest case of violence against a child is from the town of Shivachevo. The aggression was against a fifth-grader who was attacked and beaten by classmates on October 4 in a Bulgarian language class at “Georgi Karavelov” Secondary School. The reason is that, without wanting to, the jacket of one of the boys stepped on it. The owner of the garment hits him. A fight begins between the two. Three other children join in the stormy quarrel. Finally, the injured boy was taken to the medical office, and his classmates to the principal’s office. It cries and is traumatized, says it has a headache. It was also examined by his personal doctor. Beaters are punished with a reprimand, and a psychologist works with the whole class.
Violence against children can also take an inhuman form, when it comes from the closest people – their relatives. One of the most shocking crimes committed in 2023 was from Plovdiv, where 5-year-old Adrian was brutally naked, repeatedly, by his mother’s friend Petar Chernev, with whom she lives. As a result of the blows, the little boy was disfigured, and in court it became clear that the stepfather even took videos of him forcing him. A clip showed him inflicting a “brutal beating”. He knocked him off the computer chair, kicked him, grabbed him by the leg and lifted him up, then threw him, all the while the child was without clothes.
“It’s even scary to look at each other,” explained the supervising prosecutor Brigita Bajriakova at the time.
Peter, along with Adrian’s mother, Stella, were charged with causing grievous bodily harm to the minor boy. His head is disfigured, burnt, in places there is no hair. Chernev has two more charges – that he forced the 5-year-old child to do things against his will by force and threats, and that on November 21, 2023, he caused minor bodily harm, again in the context of domestic violence.
He pleaded guilty and requested a summary trial. The boy’s mother reached a partial agreement with the prosecutor’s office for a 3-year suspended sentence with 5 years of probation.
Another case of a brutal crime against a child is from Petrich, where the police arrested a father for raping his own daughter. The bullying of the 12-year-old girl takes place at the grandmother’s home. After what happened, the minor is in shock, but shares everything in front of her. He later told the details to the authorities. She describes what her father did to her in his native home.
The tragedy of the child is huge – he lives with his grandmother, since his parents do not take care of him. His mother started a new family in Kyustendilsko, and his father remarried in Petrich.
That is until the day the man decides to visit his daughter and finds her alone in the house. At that time, the old woman was gone. After a short stay, the father rapes the girl. He forces her not to resist through brutal threats that startle the child immensely. However, he could not stand it and, crying, told his grandmother what had happened. The woman immediately called the police. The father is detained and charged by the Prosecutor’s Office in Petrica. The case affected not only the victim’s relatives, but even the neighbors who want a public lynching for the rapist and are puzzled how could he do this to his daughter.
The third horrific case of violence from 2023 involved an 11-year-old boy who died three days after his classmate’s father beat him in the Valchidol village of Brestak. The beating took place in the village of Cherventsi, where the child studies. After what happened, the boy did not seek help, but returned to the village of Brestak with a swollen arm. His parents took him to a hospital in Varna, where it was found that he had a fractured wrist and bruises. The boy was left for arm surgery, but died three days later.
However, according to the autopsy, there is absolutely no causal link between the beating that took place on October 24 and the death that occurred on October 27.