The complaint, which resulted in the man being handcuffed and brought before the Thessaloniki Single-Judge Misdemeanor Court under summary proceedings, turned out to be false.
SEE ALSO: Greek Police Raid on an Israeli Party with Cocaine at a Hotel in Elounda; Four Arrested | AlphaNews
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
According to what the child’s mother told police officers and later testified in court, on Thursday at noon she went to the child’s elementary school to pick him up and noticed that he had a red mark on his neck.
“My child told me that, because he was screaming, his father pushed him onto the couch and told him about a ‘little button’ he has on his neck that they would have to press so he wouldn’t scream. Our oldest son was in the kitchen at the time and told me the same thing,” the woman stated in court, claiming that the defendant had grabbed their child by the throat and committed domestic violence.
Furthermore, she claimed in court that her ex-partner, with whom she shares joint custody of the children, had been violent toward the children in the past and that she had reported him to the authorities before. However, as it turned out, he had been acquitted on both previous occasions.
“Our son had a red mark on his neck when I picked him up from school, and when I asked my ex-husband about it, he told me he didn’t do it. But I believe he was the one who caused it,” she said.
Testifying as a witness in court, the defendant’s sister emphasized that in recent years the complainant has waged a “war” with her brother, with the aim of obtaining sole custody of the children and thus receiving higher child support. “At the first divorce hearing, she asked for 7,000 euros in child support. She wants sole custody so she can receive more money. As soon as she realized she wouldn’t get 7,000 euros, she lowered her demand to 4,500 and kept lowering it. In the end, she got 600 euros,” he testified.
“I’ve been
living a nightmare for two years”
In his defense, the defendant vehemently denied abusing his child and pointed out that he has been living a nightmare for the past two years, facing false accusations from his ex-wife.
“That day, the younger one was yelling at the older one and they were fighting; I was trying to separate them. It was the week I had custody of the children. So I picked him up and tickled him, just like we used to do when he was younger while he was playing, to help him forget his troubles and make him laugh. Then I hugged and kissed him, we had breakfast, and I took him to school. In fact, he was in a great mood. At noon, his mother picked him up from school and sent me some photos, saying that her little one told her I was the one who caused his red spots. “He had a small red mark; it wouldn’t have been just that if I’d grabbed him with my hands. I believe it came from the sweatshirt he was wearing or from playing,” he stated in his defense.
In the end, the court found him not guilty, and the trial prosecutor made the same recommendation, as no evidence emerged to suggest that the defendant had abused his minor child.
Source: Proto Thema
