A 29-year-old south Florida woman faces felony child abuse charges after doorbell video appeared to show her throwing her 3-year-old son down a condominium building hallway, then kicking him like a soccer ball.
“I feel so sorry,” Yulia Storozhuk told Miami station WPLG as she left jail Wednesday night. “I wouldn’t do this anymore.”
Storozhuk said she moved to Sunny Isles Beach, Fla., a year ago after fleeing war-torn Ukraine. Her public defender argued his client only abused her boy once, but WPLG said tape obtained by the station appeared to show her battering him twice Monday night in instances that occurred 45 minutes apart.
The toddler was placed in state custody after his mother’s Tuesday arrest. Storozhuk, due in court again next month, tearfully told reporters she wants her son back.
The single mother reportedly became frustrated with the boy because he “wasn’t listening.”
Investigators said the victim’s injuries included scratches on his stomach and back and bruising to his right arm and left knee. Cops observed redness to the boy’s face and forehead.
Sunny Isles Beach police Chief Edward Santiago said footage of Storozhuk’s behavior toward her child made him angry.
“This is not gonna be tolerated, ever,” Santiago said. “Ever.”
Sunny Isle Beach is a densely populated barrier island in the Miami metropolitan area. The scenic town of beachfronts and resorts is a popular tourist destination with 23,000 residents.
