Scandal at Kyiv Polytechnic: Hidden Camera Found in Women's Dormitory Shower, Case Being 'Hushed Up'

There are signs that the institution's staff are trying to 'shield' the student responsible.

Kyiv Polytechnic Institute has been caught up in a resonant scandal over a hidden camera in a women's dormitory shower and the administration's attempts to help the perpetrator avoid responsibility.

Here is what is known at this point.

Details of the scandal

On October 28, one of the KPI students noticed something unusual in the ventilation of the shower in dormitory No. 7.

From there she pulled out a motion-activated camera and a portable charger that the device was being charged from. The next day, the young woman approached the dormitory manager.

On the camera, they managed to find a short video recording showing the face of a second-year student who also lives in this dormitory. The student filed a complaint with the police.

Rostyslav Koval
chairman of the KPI Student Council

As far as I know, he even wrote an explanatory note and confessed. There is a comment from a member of the KPI security department, who also stated that he confessed. 

Administration's reaction

From the very beginning, the dormitory commandant helped the girls; together they called the police and promised that she would 'not give him any slack'.

Rostyslav Koval

The situation is terrible, but at first the reaction was correct: there was police involvement, and the administration contributed to it. But on November 2, during a discussion in the chat, the commandant began writing that there was no point in discussing this further, saying that 'everyone makes mistakes, you smoke in the dormitory, watch yourselves,' as if it were the same thing.

According to him, when the girls, who also live in the dormitory and shower there, came and said they wanted to join and help the investigation, the commandant accused them of seeking financial gain and wanting compensation.

However, the students say their goal is to secure fair punishment for the offender, and compensation is a secondary matter.

18 students have already signed a joint statement and are planning to go to the police, the Student Council says.

Also in the Telegram chat, both the commandant and the dormitory manager wrote that students were allegedly bullying the accused.

'As soon as the camera was brought to us, we immediately informed the security department and called the police. We did not obstruct the investigative actions in any way. We sat with the police officers until night, showing everything. The student was found immediately and evicted,' the commandant said.

She also said that the girls were allegedly aggressive, posting photos of the student everywhere. 'We are afraid that the guy could be driven to suicide. His life is under threat. Let the investigation proceed according to the law,' the commandant said.

Dormitory manager Larisa Gurovska stated in a comment that she is not obstructing the investigation and even called the police herself.

Larisa Gurovska
dormitory manager

I am the one who uncovered this crime. On Friday, a student who had found this camera in the shower on Thursday came to me. She took it, brought it to her room, and then brought it to me. I called the security department and the police, and we filed a statement. We were dealing with this case here until half past one at night, the entire administration was present.

Gurovska also expressed concern that students would allegedly carry out 'vigilante justice' against the accused if the case receives wide publicity.

MP Inna Sovsun from 'Holos' expressed outrage at the administration's attempt to shift responsibility away from the offender and onto the students.

The deputy noted that the suspect's actions constitute a violation of privacy, which contradicts Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which enshrines the right to respect for confidentiality, as well as Article 32 of the Constitution, which protects personal life.

Inna Sovsun
MP

It is unknown which websites these recordings went to, and whether the girls were adults. I will send a parliamentary appeal to seek an investigation, including into the actions of the dormitory commandant. The student should be expelled at a minimum. The administration should apologize to the students for allowing such a thing to become possible in the first place. I sympathize with the girls and wish them to recover from this story as soon as possible.

What comes next

As the Student Council reported, the young man is already being evicted from the dormitory. However, Koval said the student has left the dormitory but has not yet been fully evicted.

Law enforcement officers of the Solomianskyi district police department said the camera and recordings were seized, and they are now gathering evidence and questioning witnesses.

They opened a case under Article 182, Part 1 of the Criminal Code, 'Violation of Privacy.'

However, Sovsun says the legislation is imperfect and that the author of the video's guilt is difficult to prove.

Inna Sovsun
MP

There is Article 301, under which the offender can be punished for producing pornographic materials, but it is necessary to prove intent to sell or distribute. This is hard to establish if, for example, the device was found before the video was leaked from it. Article 182, Part 1, under which police opened the case, states that illegal collection of confidential information about a person is punishable by a fine, corrective labor, or arrest for up to six months.