A father who police way was caught on camera kicking and dropping his 2-year-old daughter at a Sunny Isles Beach condo will have to wait a little longer to see if he will be released from jail.
Andrei Sevastianov is facing charges of aggravated child abuse with great bodily harm, child abuse, and resisting arrest with violence.
On Wednesday, he appeared before Miami-Dade County Judge Mindy Glazer, who found probable cause for the child abuse charges and resisting arrest charge, ordered that he be held without bond. She issued a no-contact order with the child and granted one-time access to the condo to collect his belongings.
Sevastianov, speaking through an interpreter, told the judge, “We are tourists” and mentioned they had a flight scheduled for June 12th.
On Thursday, Sevastianov and his attorney learned that their hearing before a division judge for a final hearing for the state’s motion pretrial detention will be held June 10.
Also on Thursday, a family court judge ruled on who would get temporary custody of the girl, and her sibling, while the legal process plays out.
During the hearing, the judge asked about the girl’s safety along with that of her younger sibling. The judge then granted a shelter petition, allowing the two children stay with their mother while Sevastianov remains in jail.
Technically, the state has emergency custody of the children so that means she and the children can’t travel.
Once the stay away order is lifted, Sevastianov will be allowed to have supervised visits twice a week.
The judge asked about their financial situation and whether he could afford a private attorney. Sevastianov informed the judge that they bring in $30 thousand a month with their business back in Russia.
Anonymous tip led to disturbing behavior
The investigation in Sevastianov began after an anonymous tipster urged authorities to review surveillance footage from the La Perla condominium at 16699 Collins Avenue.
“Basically, a 2-and-a-half-year-old child was manhandled, for lack of a better word, by her father. Her hair was pulled, her arm was yanked on, she was kicked, dropped, just things that you don’t expect to see happen to a child, especially at the hands of someone that they trust most in the world, their father,” Sunny Isles Beach Police spokesman Sgt. Brian Schnell said.
Surveillance footage shows series of violent acts
Video allegedly shows Sevastianov and his daughter initially in the pool area of the condo.
At one point, police say he wrapped a towel around her neck and appeared to tighten it. The girl is seen flailing her arms before he lets go, turns her toward him and slam her head into his shoulder.
“The defendant then begins to walk inside of the lobby, carrying the victim. As he was walking in the door, he drops the victim from chest height, and knees her on the way down as she hits the floor. The defendant then kicks her on the right side of her head,” the arrest report states.
Authorities say Sevastianov dragged the girl by her hair as they moved toward the elevator where she collapsed.
“The defendant picks up the victim and violently shakes her causing her head to uncontrollably snap back and forth several times,” according to the report.
While waiting for the elevator, he is seen wrapping her tightly in a towel as she kicks her legs.
“The defendant then backs into the wall slamming her into it, pinning her between the wall and his back. The defendant then whips her around to the front, letting her fall to the floor. The two then leave out of camera view,” the report continues.
After reviewing the video, Sevastianov was taken into custody after a confrontation with officers in which he resisted arrest. The girl’s mother took her to Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital where doctors did not find any serious injuries.
