Daycare operators get fine, 30 days in jail
Trio could have been prosecuted before child’s death, lawyer says
The day after Olena Panfilova was charged with manslaughter in the death of 2-year-old Eva Ravikovich, she was sentenced to 30 days in jail and a fine of $15,500 for running the dirty, overcrowded illegal daycare where the toddler’s lifeless body was found.
Her husband, Ruslan Panfilov, and adult daughter Karyna Rabadanova face the same penalties and will serve the jail sentence on weekends.
All three were found guilty in February of operating illegal daycares out of neighbouring homes in Vaughan for six months, a violation of the Day Nurseries Act.
In a tearful statement prior to being sentenced, Panfilova, 49, admitted through a Russian interpreter that she was responsible for the number of children in the two homes on Yellowood Circ. — 28 children were there on the July 2013 night Eva was found dead.
“In my defence I would like to say I was trying to help the parents. I was trying to help people who weren’t able to pay large amounts of money. It was my beloved work,” she said.
Panfilova added that she and her daughter have been under severe stress in the past two years and that she suffers from health problems.
“All the money I made I was putting into my business and spending on my business . . . not in order to become rich . . . I really didn’t want it to happen. I beg you to understand me.”
Panfilov said he regretted what happened and apologized.
Neither of the two directly addressed Eva’s death in their statements.
In addition to the manslaughter charge Panfilova now faces, she and Rabadanova have both been charged with obstruction of justice and destroying evidence.
“It is good that they are being punished but it is not enough, it is not even close to being enough,” said lawyer Patrick Brown, who represents the family of Eva Ravikovich in a $3.5-million wrongful death lawsuit. “The family is looking forward to the criminal prosecutions.”
They believe the prosecution could have and should have taken place before Eva died, he said.
Speaking to reporters outside the courtroom, defence counsel for the Panfilov family said the situation has been traumatic for everyone involved.
“There is no relation between the tragic death of Eva and their conduct and the fact they were acting without a licence,” paralegal Phil Bouranov said.
In her sentencing decision, Justice of the Peace Marie-Christine Smythe said the defence argued the daycare was being operated to help individuals in the Russian community and that there is a “daycare crisis.”
The harm done by not having a licence must be weighed against the service provided, they argued.
However, “in this case the potential harm is great as all the evidence shows the three defendants were looking after 28 children . . . and 20 of those children were 4 years old or younger,” Smythe said.
She also pointed to the dire situation revealed during the trial: more than a dozen dogs were found in one area close to where children were sleeping, and there were bags of dirty diapers in the kitchen.
They also knew they were violating the law, she said, adding that they had received a letter from the Ministry of Education in late 2012 telling them to reduce the number of children in the daycare.
The Crown argued that the family was motivated by greed, making up to $10,000 per child per year.
Smythe said the three defendants are not the worst offenders, there being no record of previous similar violations. But this is “one of the most serious circumstances of this kind of offence,” she said.
“Parents who put their children in the care of individuals need to be confident in the care that will be provided and that the standard of care will be such to ensure their safety and protection,” she said. “By having these children in their care without a licence they prevented these parents from having the comfort of these standards.”
The Crown sought jail sentences of between three and six months, the defence a fine of between $10,000 and $20,000.
The intermittent jail sentence was ordered so Panfilov and Rabadanova can continue to work and so Panifilova can continue to be treated for medical issues, Smythe said.
They also face two years of probation and are not to own or operate licensed or unlicensed daycares. According to the Ministry of Education the fines imposed go to the municipality in which the court is located. With files from Alex Ballingall