British Man Pleads Guilty Over Death of Two-Year-Old Son in Cyprus
A British man, Joshua Foster from Essex, has pleaded guilty to causing the death of his two-year-old son who fell from a hotel window in Cyprus.
Foster pleaded guilty to a charge of causing death through a reckless, rash or dangerous act at a court in Paphos on Tuesday.
The boy fell from the fourth floor of the King Evelthon Beach Hotel and Resort in Chlorakas on July 12.
The court is expected to hear the full facts of the case on Oct. 5, when the prosecution will present its case and the defence will present mitigating circumstances.
Foster had been allowed to return to the UK to attend his son’s funeral on the condition that he returned to Cyprus for the hearing.
His lawyer, Alexandros Alexandrou, said he would ask the court to allow Foster to return to the UK to stay with his wife and daughter until the next hearing.
The court was earlier told that the boy fell through an open window while his father was holding him around the waist and swinging him from side to side.
Alexandrou said Foster decided to plead guilty to avoid a lengthy trial and spare his family from having to relive the child’s death in court.
He said the maximum sentence for the offence was four years in prison, but urged the court to consider previous cases where defendants had received fines or suspended sentences.
In a statement to the BBC, Alexandrou said the incident was a momentary lapse of attention and that there was no intention to harm the child.
He said the defence would present relevant mitigating evidence and circumstances before sentencing.
The lawyer said the family had suffered “unimaginable grief” following the incident and appealed for privacy as they continued to cope with the loss.
