The father of a 3-year-old U.K. boy who suffered serious burns to his face and arms in an acid attack last summer has been sentenced to 16 years in prison. (West Mercia Police)
The father of a 3-year-old British boy who suffered serious burns to his face and arms in an acid attack last summer has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for orchestrating the whole incident.
A jury in central England found the 40-year-old man and five others guilty of conspiracy with intent to “burn, main or disfigure” for the acid attack inside a Home Bargains store in Worcester in July 2018.
According to prosecutors, the unidentified father wanted more contact with his son amid a custody battle with the child’s mother and organized the plot to manufacture evidence the child’s mother was unfit to care for him.
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The five co-defendants – identified as Adam Cech, Jan Dudi, Norbert Pulko, Jabar Paktia, and Saied Hussini - received prison terms of 12 to 14 years for plotting to spray sulphuric acid on the boy with intent to cause harm. A seventh defendant was acquitted.
Judge Robert Juckes told the men they committed a "monstrous" crime that had been carefully planned and executed.
"It is an extraordinary thing, in this case, that not one of you, most of whom have no previous convictions, most of whom with families of your own, at any stage stood back and asked the question of yourself and others, 'What are we doing?'" Juckes said.
During the six-week trial, the court was shown CCTV footage of the moment of the attack, which shows the injured child screaming “I hurt” after being struck, Sky News reported.
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The boy has made a “good recovery” and is living with his mother.
A statement from the mother was read out loud in court. She said she would be in serious danger when the father is released from prison.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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