A British dad has pleaded guilty to causing the death of his two-year-old son during a holiday in Cyprus.
The man was charged with causing death by a reckless act, after his son fell ten metres from the fourth floor of the King Evelthon Beach Hotel and Resort in Chlorakas.
The dad is thought to have put the toddler on a sill beside an open window, believing it to be closed, while waiting for a lift.
Sadly, the child was declared dead on arrival at Paphos General Hospital shortly after the incident.
The dad pleaded guilty to causing death by a rash, reckless or dangerous act at a court in Paphos, Cyprus.
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 initially told in July the boy fell through an open window when his father was holding him around his waist and swinging him from side to side.
Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Alexandros Alexandrou, the dad’s lawyer, said he pleaded guilty after considering the impact the trial could have on him and his family.
The two-year-old fell roughly 10 metres from a window at the King Evelthon Beach Hotel and Resort in Chlorakas | TSOKKOS HOTELS
Mr Alexandrou said: “I explained that a not guilty plea would mean a trial. That would take a long time and many trial days, in which he would be faced again with all the details regarding the accident.
“He would see pictures and evidence that would be disturbing for him and his family and they would be victims again of this tragedy.
“Last night he decided to plead guilty in order to end this story, to face whatever is going to be the penalty.
“To go back to his family which is the most important thing in his mind, to support, grieve and stand with his family.”
The tragedy unfolded at the King Evelthon Beach Hotel and Resort on the family’s first day of their holiday | GOOGLE
Mr Alexandrou said the dad did not intend to endanger his son’s life and described him as a “father who found himself in an unfortunate situation”.
He added that the dad would appeal if he received the maximum punishment of four years imprisonment, which would disqualify him from a suspended sentence.
Last week, George Savvides, the Cyprus attorney-general, rejected his last-minute attempt to have the case dropped on humanitarian grounds.
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