A mother from Florida faces two charges of felony child abuse after a neighbor turned over disturbing surveillance camera footage of the woman and her young son. Yulia Storozhuk, 29, of Sunny Isles Beach, allegedly beat her 3-year-old son, David, in the hallway of her condominium complex. The video is difficult to watch.
Storozhuk is seen kicking the little boy and throwing him across the ground. Sunny Isles Beach Police Chief Edward Santiago told WPLG this kind of behavior "is not gonna be tolerated."
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The angry mother reportedly told police that David was not listening.
Police told WPLG that Storozhuk said she struck the child because he wasn't listening to her. The incident occurred Tuesday at a building in the 17000 block of North Bay Road. A neighbor reportedly caught the footage on a Ring surveillance camera and quickly turned it over to police.
"We say that all the time in law enforcement. This person, this neighbor who called us about this incident, may not know it but they saved the life of this young boy," Sunny Isles Beach representative Sergeant Melissa Porro told CBS News Miami. "Nobody knows what could have happened to this child had this person not come forward."
The mother reportedly brutally attacked David.
The heartbreaking video shows Storozhuk not only throwing her son but also kicking him as they walk down the hall. The violent attack reportedly left David with marks all over his body, per an arrest report obtained by WPLG.
"I observed redness on the victim's right cheek and right forehead along with bruising on his right forearm and left knee," the investigating officer wrote in an arrest report. "Scratches were also observed on his stomach and on his back."
The police chief said he was enraged by the footage.
Santiago said Storozhuk will pay a hefty price for her alleged behavior.
"This is not gonna be tolerated, ever. Ever," he told WPLG. "When I saw the video (I was) very angry and we're not gonna tolerate this. There's consequences and you're gonna pay the consequences for this."
Porro echoed Santiago's sentiment to CBS News Miami, saying, "This is something whether you are a parent or not, this is pure disgust. For a human being let alone this boy's mother to do something like this to an innocent child who can not defend himself, I find this totally despicable."
The mother reportedly told police this had never happened before.
Through a Russian interpreter, Storozhuk, who recently immigrated to Florida from Ukraine, allegedly said this was the first time she had abused her son.
"I am very sorry, I'm a single mom," Storozhuk said in court, according to WPLG. "It was the only time I let my emotions take better of me. And I never abused my child, this only happened once."
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The judge ordered the mother to stay away from the little boy.
Storozhuk was released Wednesday from Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $5,000 bond. The judge ordered her to have no contact with David. As she exited the jail, she told WPLG, "I'm so sorry, I won't do this anymore."
Storozhuk was charged with two counts of felony child abuse, per CBS News Miami. It is unclear whether she obtained a lawyer and when she will appear in court next. The Florida Department of Children and Families is investigating the case.
If you suspect child abuse, you can call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453 (1-800-4-A-Child) or go to Childhelp.org. The hotline is available 24/7.
