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Parish Court of Vilkaviskis district denied Child Defence Inspector‘s, E.Žiobienė‘s, complaint with the intention to accuse Virginijus Kelertas, Šakiai Lutheran parish Priest who is also heading a local child foster house, of self-will behavior. The complaint stated as if he took the girl from the family under social risk and accommodated her in the self-headed institution. That was not the first time when E.Žiobienė was complaining about the case that last year before Christmas V.Kelertas took a starving, frozen, beaten eight years old girl from the drinking family to spend the holidays in the child foster house where her adult sister Rasvita was living.

The priest who was encouraging the communication between the two sisters and revealed possible violence of the mother against the daughters until this moment is astonished by E.Žiobienė‘s, who was supposed to defend the girl’s rights, indifference and actions taken that are not likely to defend the welfare of the girl.

Chief public Procurator of Vilkaviskis district who was responsible for the pretrial investigation regarding the complain of the Child Deference Officer, Kęstutis Jasaitis, sees in her actions not care about the child but pure ambitions as well.

Mother Allowed to Stay on Visit

The story of the sisters started last year on Christmas. On the eve of the holiday the eight year girl together with her adult sister Rasvita arrived to the foster house of Šakiai. Both sisters under their own request were brought to the foster house for the holidays by the Director of the institution V.Kelertas, local Lutheran Priest. That day Rasvita came to the Priest and told that she received a message by phone from her younger sister that disturbed her a lot. Preteen girl asked Rasvita to come home as soon as possible. V. Kelertas offered the girl to go and to see what happened.

When they arrived to the home of Rasvitas’ mother, Skirma Ripnskaitė, and her cohabite, they found them drinking together with some other persons. The house was cold; the little sister had nothing to eat. That is why the Priest offered the mother to let both sisters to stay at the foster house during the holidays. S. Ripinskaitė had nothing against it. She also approved her daughter’s staying there after several days when she came to visit her little girl.

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Complaints Poured

Nobody would have been disturbed about the girl’s staying at the foster house but there was one unexpected thing. It was not the first time when the eight year old sister was staying together with Rasvita but at that Christmas the elder sister who brought her unwashed and hungry sister found bruises on the girl’s body. She informed the Head of the foster house about that. Soon the police officers were interested in that case as well. The pre-trial investigation was started regarding the possible violence of the mother against the preteen. The girl told to the officers that her mother and her cohabite are beating her.

Though when police started to investigate the circumstances of the possible violence against the preteen S. Ripinskaite arrived to the Šakiai foster house together with the Social Officer of Sintautai district and took the girl home. Soon the complaint was written to Child Defence Inspector as well. When the shameful facts were disclosed to the daylight E.Žiobienė together with Vida Ramanauskiene, procurator of General Solicitor’s Office, arrived to Šakiai. But she did not concern the Child Defence Officer at all and how the brushes appeared in the girl’s body. She was standing on the other side of the barricade and due to the ostensibly self-willing behaviour of the priest she addressed to chief Procurator of the Kaunas District and he obligated the investigation to be conducted by Šakiai area Solicitor’s Office. The material of the investigation done by Šakiai officers was given for evaluation to the Vilkaviškis area Solicitor’s Office in order to maintain the impartiality.

The officers of Vilkaviškis after the evaluation of the material suspended the investigation as they saw no offenses or crimes committed by the actions taken by the priest V.Kelertas. Child Defence Inspector E.Žiobienė was not calmed by that and wrote a new complaint regarding the suspended pre-trial investigation. Nevertheless the chief procurator of Vilkaviškis district, K.Jasaitis, rejected it as groundless. After that the complaint was send to Vilkaviškis district Court. The verdict of the Court was unfavourable to E.Žiobienė – the priest was accused baselessly.

Important Order not the Child

Thou the Court expressed the position and the adjudication was enforced, Child Defence Inspector E.Žiobienė still states that she is right and the Head of Šakiai foster house, V.Kelertas, was acting wrongly. “The Director of the foster house came to the family and took the girl. According to the general procedure this action could be performed only by the employees of the Child Defence Office. Also the police can do this when the Officers are not working”, - stated the Child Defence Inspector to LN on Friday.

While making comments on the situation the Officer did not mentioned a word about girls’ favour and how she felt in the cold house of her drunk parents on that Christmas eve.

“We basically tried to prevent the actions taken, we wanted the Priest never perform such actions again in other families. If the child is taken from the family, firstly, it should be thought about the other members of the family that could take care of – secondly, of the other families and only then, finally, about the foster house. In Šakiai region there are enough families where children could grow", - explained E.Žiobienė.

Sees Pure Ambitions

Nevertheless, the Head of the foster house V.Kelertas, states that he even encouraged the communication between sisters, he helped them to stay together. Under the sister’s request the eight year old girl spent in the foster house almost all last summer.

That it is why he had no objections that time before Christmas when there was suspicion regarding the preteen who was uncared for – hungry, cold and beaten as it was later discovered. And the mother had no objections for the daughters staying together. “But the Officers who should defend children care for what is written on the paper but not for their welfare ", - said V.Kelertas with resent.

Chief Procurator of Vilkaviškis district Solicitor‘s Office, K.Jasaitis, stated to LN also noticing that the story related to the eight year old girl and Šakiai Lutheran Priest and Director of the foster house, V.Kelertas, is more likely the fight between ambitions of the two institutions than care for a child. And after all, exactly according to V.Kelertas report to the police officers the investigation was started regarding possible violence against the girl in the family of the social risk. This case will be investigated again by the Jurbarkas region Court.

Author: Kazys KAZAKEVIČIUS

October 17, 2011

,,Lithuanian News"