CourcellesIn Courcelles (near Charleroi), a man has been arrested for attempted murder of his two-week-old baby. Sudinfo reports this and the Charleroi public prosecutor’s office confirms the information. According to Michaël L. (24), it was an accident and the child fell out of the seat. However, he appears to have been convicted in 2015 for violence against a 4-month-old child.
It was the baby’s mother who called the emergency services on Thursday. She had gone shopping in Charleroi with friends and when she came home she saw that something was wrong. “Initially she wasn’t too worried because the baby was in the playpen and her husband was sleeping. But at some point she noticed that something was wrong with the child’s breathing,” said the Charleroi public prosecutor’s office.
The baby was taken to hospital in critical condition. The baby is still between life and death.
The child’s father was arrested, questioned and arrested for attempted murder. Next week he will appear before the council chamber of Charleroi. “According to the father, it is an accident. He claims that the child fell out of the seat. But his statement changes,” said the prosecutor.
Ambulance
According to Sudinfo, it is not the first time that the man has appeared in such a case. On the morning of April 17, 2013, an ambulance had to come to the house of the man and his partner at the time. Their 4-month-old baby would have suffered a cardiac arrest. However, there turned out to be more going on.
The hospital discovers suspicious traces and raises the alarm. The child appears to have a fractured skull and broken ribs. Ultimately, the father was convicted of attempted manslaughter in 2015.
Confessions
He initially states that he “dropped” or “thrown” the child on the floor because he was annoyed, but in court he makes full confessions. “I wasn’t sleeping anymore, I was stressed. He cried all the time and I couldn’t stand it,” he said. The child turns out to be unwanted and was neglected. So he only got cold milk and no formula. He also had to sit in his Maxi-Cosi all the time.
The father receives 15 years in prison, which is reduced to 12 years on appeal. He was still serving that sentence at the time of the new facts, with an ankle bracelet, at home.
The three children from his previous relationship have all been placed.
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