Two nuns who work at a care home have been charged by prosecutors after journalists documented widespread alleged abuse of disabled children at the facility located in Jordan贸w, a town of 5,000 in southern Poland.
The nuns allegedly tied children to beds, locked them in cages, and beat them with a mop on a daily basis, according to an investigation published today by news website Wirtualna Polska, which also showed images and videos allegedly from inside the care home.
馃挃馃挃馃挃 鈥硷笍PODAJ DALEJ鈥硷笍 To nie Rosja, to nie Korea P贸艂nocna. To Polska 2022. Zakonnice zamykaj膮 dzieci w klatce. Bij膮 je. Wyzywaj膮. To jest straszna historia, ale musicie j膮 pozna膰 i poda膰 dalej, 偶eby co艣 si臋 zmieni艂o. Doce艅cie nasz膮 robot臋 z @DariuszFaron https://t.co/wTUpQ58dVM pic.twitter.com/VsHpFjRLam
— Szymon Jadczak (@SzJadczak) June 13, 2022
The website also reported that children were called names and humiliated. The nuns and some of the lay caregivers allegedly addressed pupils with such phrases as “your mother is a prostitute” and “if you are bad, you will get f***ing beaten up”.
The story came to light when former workers of the care home and parents of children who had stayed there decided to tell journalists about the abuse after one of the nuns allegedly beat a 13-year-old girl.
馃挃Ta dziewczynka ka偶dego wieczoru by艂a na wiele godzin przywi膮zywana do 艂贸偶ka. Jak pies do budy. Tak wygl膮da艂a rzeczywisto艣膰 w domu zakonnic pod Krakowem. https://t.co/wTUpQ58dVM pic.twitter.com/UOorjHl6qt
— Szymon Jadczak (@SzJadczak) June 13, 2022
A few hours after the original story was published, Wirtualna Polska reported that two of the nuns had heard charges in relation to information revealed in the investigation. The website said that prosecutors had been notified by the journalists about the situation last week.
The investigation had already been underway for several weeks, but following the website’s notification, the investigators accelerated their proceedings, according to Wirtualna Polska.
Pytam z @DariuszFaron zakonnic臋 Bronis艂aw臋 G. dlaczego zamyka dzieci w klatce?
– S膮d nam pozwoli艂?
– Jaki s膮d? – dopytuj臋.
– Jakiej klatce – odpowiada siostra.
A 20 godzin p贸藕niej ju偶 siedzia艂a u prokuratura i s艂ucha艂a zarzut贸w.https://t.co/6P9ZBN9r9s pic.twitter.com/6rlLmZIlV4— Szymon Jadczak (@SzJadczak) June 13, 2022
Sister Alberta聽 – whose real name is Bo偶ena K., with her surname hidden under Polish privacy law – has been charged with abusing at least one girl and violating the bodily integrity of another child. Wirtualna Polska reports that further charges may soon be added.
The director of the care home, Sister Bronis艂awa, has also been charged with obstructing the investigation. Both nuns denied wrongdoing.
Preventive measures have temporarily been introduced against them. They are not allowed to contact the wronged parties, other caregivers and employees of the care home. They are also prohibited from entering the facility or coming within 50 metres of it. Sister Alberta additionally will not be allowed to work with children.
Poland’s commissioner for human rights, Marcin Wi膮cek, has issued a statement calling on the provincial authorities to take supervisory measures over the care home. A deputy justice minister, Micha艂 Wo艣, told Wirtualna Polska that his department would be “carefully checking everything”.
Main image credit: Wirtualna Polska (screenshot)
Alicja Ptak is deputy editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She has written for Clean Energy Wire and The Times, and she hosts her own podcast, The Warsaw Wire, on Poland鈥檚 economy and energy sector. She previously worked聽for聽Reuters.
