pbrown@mollp.com
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A manslaughter charge in the death of a toddler at an overcrowded Vaughan daycare provides the child’s family at least some solace in acknowledging the “criminal” nature of her death, lawyer Patrick Brown tells the Toronto Star.
“The family is pleased that this is something more. It’s substantial. It’s criminal,” says Brown, a partner with McLeish Orlando LLP who represents Eva Ravikovich’s parents. “York Police really stayed with this and laid a significant criminal charge that reflects the gravity of the situation.”
Charged is Olena Panfilova, 49, who was one of three people who operated the Vaughan facility where Eva’s lifeless body was found July 8, 2013.
Convicted under Day Nurseries Act
In addition to the manslaughter charge, Panfilova, as well as her husband and daughter, are now also serving a 30-day jail sentence after the trio was found guilty in February of operating an illegal daycare and were convicted under Ontario’s Day Nurseries Act.
But the sentence was too little, too late for the child’s family, Brown tells the Canadian Press.
“This type of penalty doesn’t even come close to punishing these people for what they did,” Brown says.
Ruslan Panfilova, his wife Olena Panfilova and her daughter Karyna Rabadanova were sentenced March 18 to serve the 30 days intermittently on weekends, and given two years to each pay a $15,000 fine with a victim surcharge, the news outlet reports.
$3.5M wrongful death lawsuit
Eva’s parents, Ekaterina Evtropova and Vycheslav Ravikovich, have launched a $3.5 million wrongful death lawsuit, naming both the daycare operators and the province, the Star reports.
Government inspectors failed to look into four complaints about the daycare at 343 Yellowood Circ. in Vaughan, the Star reports. The complaints had to do with the number of children in the unlicensed daycare.
According to the Day Nurseries Act, home daycares are allowed to operate without a licence only if they look after no more than five children.
