Prosecutors to sign plea deal with daycare attendant accused of killing girl

Prosecutors are set to sign on a plea bargain with a daycare attendant suspected of killing an 18-month-old girl by choking her to death, Hadashot television news reported Wednesday.

The deal would see Ina Skivenko admit to manslaughter of Yasmin Vinta, but charges of abuse to eight other children would be changed to assault. Prosecutors intend to ask for a “high” double-digit sentence, the report said.

In June Skivenko was indicted for the manslaughter of Vinta at a daycare center in Petah Tikva.

According to the charge sheet, Skivenko allegedly sat on the toddler, who suffocated and died in May. She was also accused of abusing babies in at least 10 separate cases by slamming them on the floor, throwing them on chairs, kicking them or shaking them.

A bill requiring all childcare centers and nurseries to have security cameras had been debated and delayed for years before finally being passed by the Knesset on Monday. According to the new law, from September 2020 all daycare centers, nurseries and rehabilitation centers will need to install security cameras, unless 70 percent of the parents object.

All activities inside the centers and the yards outside will be recorded, without sound, on closed-circuit systems. The footage will only be accessed by authorities if there is a suspicion that an offense has been committed. Improper distribution of images will carry a sentence of up to six months in prison.

Parents have been complaining for years about the lack of supervision and background checks in daycare centers in Israel. The previous law on the issue passed in 1965, and many have argued that its content is outdated and out of touch with modern supervision standards.