White Mother In Florida Released On Bond After Arrest For Beating Of 3-Year-Old Son. Was Court Lenient Because Of Her Race?

Yulia Storozhuk was arrested on Oct. 31 after a neighbor’s Ring camera captured her abusing her 3-year-old son, NBC Miami reports. The 29-year-old woman was seen throwing the child around before repeatedly kicking him on the video. Storozhuk was charged with two counts of child abuse.

The attack went on for some time as two separate captures taken more than a half hour apart showed Storozhuk continuing her assault on the child. In the second video, she was seen pushing her son in the chest, causing him to fall to the ground. Investigators found the boy to have injuries commensurate with the attack, including redness on his cheek and forehead, and bruises on his right forearm and left knee.

The mother appeared before a bond court, where she was assigned a public defender and attempted to convince a judge that her actions were a one-time occurrence.

“I am very sorry, I am a single mom and it was only one incident where I let my emotions get the best of me,” Storozhuk said. I’m so sorry, I won’t do this anymore.”

Storozhuk reportedly told authorities that she loved her son, and it was his disobedience that led to the attack. The Department of Children and Families is currently investigating the incident, NBC Miami reports, and the mother has been ordered to cease all contact with her son. Storozhuk was released on $5,000 bond and is set to be arraigned in 30 days.

While some Black mothers are jailed for trying to provide a better education for their children, the glaring difference in how Storozhuk was treated by both law enforcement as well as the court system was noted by commenters under a video posted about the incident by The Neighborhood Talk.

“If it was a Black mother she’d STILL be in jail with a Million dollar bond,” one user commented.

Others pointed out that these instances of abuse are often habitual.

“He was terrified to even walk towards her in the beginning of the video, this isn’t her first time,” the user said.