Father admits causing death of his son in hotel fall
The two-year-old boy fell from the window of a hotel in Cyprus in July, a Paphos court hears.
Father admits causing death of his son in hotel fall
The man was permitted to go back to the UK for his child's funeral, provided that he returned to Cyprus for court proceedings.
A British man has admitted causing the death of his two-year-old son after the child fell from a hotel window in Cyprus.
The father, who is from Essex, entered a guilty plea at a court in Paphos on Tuesday to a charge of causing death through a reckless, rash or dangerous act.
The boy fell from the fourth floor of the King Evelthon Beach Hotel and Resort in Chlorakas on 12 July, the Times had previously reported.
A further hearing is scheduled for 5 October, when the prosecutor will outline the facts of the case and the defence will present mitigation, a court official confirmed.
The defendant's name was not disclosed during the hearing.
The boy fell from the fourth floor of the King Evelthon Beach Hotel and Resort in Chlorakas on 12 July
The man was allowed to return to the UK for his child's funeral, on the condition that he flew back to Cyprus last week so the plea hearing could go ahead.
His lawyer, Alexandros Alexandrou, said he would ask the court to remove travel restrictions so his client can return to the UK to be with his wife and daughter until the next hearing.
Paphos district court was told in July 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 the father chose to plead guilty to avoid a lengthy trial and spare his family from having to relive the child's death in court.
The lawyer told the Associated Press after Tuesday's hearing that a long trial would mean the man was "again a victim of this tragedy".
"The most important thing for him is to return to his family," he said.
The maximum penalty for the offence is four years in prison, but Alexandrou said the court should consider earlier cases in which defendants were fined or given suspended sentences.