Opol nursery caregiver charged after CCTV captures child being dragged and shaken

The incident

On 8 June 2026, CCTV footage at the private nursery "Autobusik" in Opole captured a caregiver, Oksana K., manhandling a two-year-old boy. The video shows her pulling the child by the arm, causing him to fall against a chair, and later dragging him across the floor and shaking him while he cried. The child was isolated from the group, reportedly as a punishment for crying, according to the parents. After the incident, the boy was picked up by his grandparents, who later noticed multiple bruises and marks on his body.

The child's father said the marks on the arm resembled fingerprints, not bite marks, prompting the parents to alert the police.

Investigation and charges

Police secured the nursery's CCTV recordings, which confirmed the violent handling. On Monday 15 June, after being questioned, Oksana K. was charged with causing moderate bodily harm, defined as an injury lasting more than seven days. She did not admit guilt and refused to give explanations. The court applied police supervision, a travel ban (including passport confiscation), and suspended her right to perform any profession involving the education or care of minors.

“The woman was charged with causing so-called moderate bodily harm, that is a health disorder lasting longer than seven days, to a child under two years old.”

Public reaction and city inspection

The footage, first published by Nowa Trybuna Opolska on 11 June, sparked widespread outrage across national media and social networks. The Opole City Hall immediately launched an inspection of the nursery's documentation and staffing.

“The city's reaction could only be one. We are checking all documentation and the CCTV recording. We want to determine the actual organization of care, how many caregivers were present for how many children, whether the situations seen on the recordings were incidental or could have occurred before, what the staff's qualifications were, and whether the facility met all required procedures.”

Legal consequences

If convicted, Oksana K. faces up to five years in prison. The investigation is ongoing, with prosecutors examining whether the child may have been exposed to further harm and whether staffing levels at the nursery were adequate. The nursery has already dismissed the caregiver.