Baby rises brain injury, dad risks two years in prison: « Never the intention of consciously hurting » (Harelbeke)
© Belga
A 39-year-old man from Harelbeke risks a two-year prison sentence after his 1-year-old son ended up in the hospital in a critical condition. The man had laid the child on his stomach, after which it no longer got oxygen. The twin brother would also have sustained a rib fracture.
Intrak. Both the civil party and the accused and the public prosecutor took the word on Monday morning. There was a 39-year-old dad from Harelbeke who would have mistreated his 2-year-old twin sons. One child will never be able to live a normal life.
The facts occurred on December 26 last year. The man stormed up in panic. He urged his wife to call the emergency services because their one son no longer breathed. From the AZ Groeninge in Kortrijk, the boy was transferred to UZ Gent, where a brain haemorrhage was established. « Life -threatening injuries that were inflicted, » it sounds.
New techniques
His twin brother was also investigated. The ribs turned out to be hit with him. Intentional blows and injuries to a newborn twin, the public prosecutor judges. The man acknowledged with the police that he was dealing with the children too brutally and also on December 26 he had put the child a little too hard on the belly in the cradle. That could now yield him a two-year prison sentence, partly with a probation delay.
The man does not dispute the facts. But he wanted to make the context clear. One son had reflux, the other cramps and that manifested itself in persistent howling. In addition, there was stress at work and the postnatal depression of his wife. « He became less tolerant and also started to deal with his children a little more harshly. For example, he applied new techniques to calm them, » said Advocate Fabienne De Smet.
Punished for life
Beat a little harder for a peasant, cycling movements with the legs and laying on the stomach. But so something brutal than it should. « It is not to whitewash, but it was never the intention to consciously hurt, » it sounded. « Actually, that man has been punished for life, because he will always be confronted with it. »
He is by no means a bad dad, they believe. « With the older daughter has never been an incident, » said the lawyer. The rib fracture of the other children? « Perhaps it originated at birth, because the gynecologist then reported that he heard a krakje at the birth. »
The man himself showed his regret in court. He had been in custody for over five months, and follows psychological guidance. He is still with his wife and takes care of his children to heart. It was asked to appoint an expert to view the injuries. Continuation on June 30.
