A British father has formally requested that a Cypriot judge refrain from imposing a prison sentence after he pleaded guilty to a charge of negligence in the death of his 3-year-old son. The tragic incident occurred on July 12 at the King Evelthon hotel in Paphos, where the child fell 12 meters, or approximately 40 feet, from a fourth-floor room window.
According to evidence presented at the Paphos District Court, the 38-year-old defendant, his son, and his father-in-law were preparing for dinner after a day at the pool. The father lifted the child to look at the hotel's waterpark from the window when the boy slipped and fell to his death. Prosecutor Chryso Perganti stated that the child was pronounced dead at a hospital two hours later, having suffered multiple skull and bone fractures along with damage to vital organs.
During mitigation proceedings, defense lawyer Alexandros Alexandrou argued that his client’s guilty plea acknowledges a momentary lapse of judgment rather than willful negligence. He told Judge Froso Christodoulidou that the incident was a fraction of a second that will haunt the father for the rest of his life, asserting that this loss is punishment enough for the family. Alexandrou maintained that the court should consider the nature of the mistake and that justice could be served without resorting to the utmost severity in sentencing.
The defense lawyer also addressed the defendant's alcohol consumption. While a blood sample taken six hours after the fall showed the man was under the legal limit, experts estimated his blood alcohol level at the time of the incident may have been more than twice the legal limit. Alexandrou countered that this had no bearing on the case, as there was no evidence the defendant was impaired at the time of the fall. He added that the father and his father-in-law had both told investigators they believed the glass window pane was shut.
The defendant, an auditor at a major U.K. firm, faces potential professional ruin, with his lawyer noting he risks losing his job and his license to practice regardless of whether a prison sentence is suspended. The charge carries a maximum of four years in prison, though sentences of three years or less can be suspended under Cypriot law. The defendant was visibly distraught in the dock, wiping away tears as the proceedings were translated for him, while his parents sat in the rear of the courtroom. Judge Christodoulidou is scheduled to deliver her ruling on October 16.
Addressing the judge, Alexandrou said he wasn't arguing that the defendant be absolved of responsibility but that the court must consider “what kind of mistake was made at that point in time.”
