The operator of an illegal daycare in Vaughan has been sentenced to 22 months in jail and three years of probation in the death of a two-year-old child back in 2013.
The sentencing hearing took place at a Newmarket courthouse on Friday after Olena Panfilova pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing the death of Eva Ravikovich in July 2013.
Panfilova pleaded guilty on April 4 after evidence concluded that Eva Ravikovich was left inside a vehicle outside of the daycare for approximately seven hours in the July heat.
The incident took place on July 8 2013 at a home daycare in Thornhill, near Highway 7 and Dufferin Street.
Officers responded to the daycare for reports of a toddler found not breathing. Paramedics attempted to revive Ravikovich but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Ravikovich was in the care of the illegal daycare at the time of her death that was run by Panfilova, her daughter and her husband.
The trio was all found guilty under Ontario’s Day Nurseries Act of operating an illegal daycare. They were all sentenced to 30 days in jail, to be served intermittently on weekend, and given two years to each pay a $15,000 fine with a victim surcharge.
At the sentencing hearing for Panfilova, Ravikovich’s mother Ekaterina Evtropva read out an emotional impact statement.
“Four years of torture, day in and day out,” Evtropva said. “And this person never came up to me and said sorry.”
“If you ask me how much time this person deserves in jail, I would answer I don’t care. Because nothing will bring my Eva back.”
The crown attorney asked for two years in prison and three years of probation for Panfilova. The defence was asking for 15 months in prison.
