Brit dad pleads responsible to inflicting the demise of son, 2, after fall from lodge window
A British father from Essex has admitted a charge of causing death through a reckless, rash or dangerous act following his son’s death in a tragic fall from a hotel window in Cyprus
The tragedy happened in Chlorakas, near Paphos, in Cyprus (file)(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
A British dad, who has not been yet been official named, has pleaded guilty to causing the death of his two-year-old son after he tragically fell from a hotel window while on holiday in Cyprus.
The father, from Essex, admitted a charge of causing death through a reckless, rash or dangerous act at a court in Paphos on Tuesday (September 22).
A further hearing will now take place on October 5 when the prosecutor is expected to set out the facts of the case and the defence will present mitigation, a court official confirmed. They would not give the defendant’s name.
The case was heard at Paphos District Court (file)(Image: PA)
The boy tragically fell from the fourth floor of the King Evelthon Beach Hotel and Resort in Chlorakas on July 12, as previously reported by The Times.
The man was allowed to return to the UK for his child’s funeral, on condition that he flew back to Cyprus last week in order for the plea hearing to take place.
Paphos district court was told in July that the boy fell through an open window when his father was allegedly holding him around his waist and swinging him from side to side.
However, on Tuesday The Sun reported that the father disputes this claim. He reportedly stated that he sat his son on a window ledge while waiting for a lift, but had not realised the window was open.
The man’s lawyer Alexandros Alexandrou said he will ask the court to lift travel restrictions so that his client can return to the UK to be with his wife and daughter until the next hearing.
The father decided to plead guilty to avoid a long trial and spare his family reliving the toddler’s death in court, according to Mr Alexandrou.
A long trial would mean that the man is “again a victim of this tragedy”, he told the Associated Press after Tuesday’s hearing. “The most important thing for him is to return to his family,” he said.
The maximum sentence for the charge is four years in prison, but Mr Alexandrou said the court should take previous cases into account where defendants have been fined or received a suspended sentence.
He said he will appeal if the father, who he refused to name, receives the maximum sentence.
