An unthinkable child abuse case has been heard in Lamia, with the parents of a baby accused of treating him violently and even causing him serious health problems.
After two adjournments, the Lamia Mixed Jury Court found a former couple from Karpenisi guilty of severely abusing their newborn child, which, according to the case file, occurred from December 2022 until March 2023, when the baby was removed from his parents by order of a prosecutor.
More specifically, the court imposed heavy prison sentences without recognizing any mitigating factors. The mother, now 43, was sentenced to 14 years in prison, while the 47-year-old father was sentenced to 12 years.
The bench also ruled that their appeal would not have a suspensive effect, meaning they were sent straight to prison and would not be released until the second instance trial. Until today they were released on restricted conditions, lamiareport.gr reported.
The prosecutor was also extremely strict, talking about repeated abusive behaviour towards the infant and stressed that the fact that they admitted they were incompetent as parents does not reduce their responsibility. He said they showed neither remorse nor genuine concern for the condition of the child, who has serious health problems and has a permanent brain drainage system.
The father had in fact previously been convicted of domestic violence against another of his children, and had lost custody of the child years ago.
According to the indictment, the baby, born in November 2022, suffered repeated abuse from the first months of his life. The case came to light when a paediatrician noticed an alarming increase in the infant’s head circumference and social services were informed.
Initially the parents refused to have the child transferred to a public hospital, but after intervention by social workers and police, the infant was transferred to a children’s hospital in Athens. There, according to the case file, the mother allegedly continued to inflict injuries on him until the prosecutor’s office was ordered to immediately remove herself from his vicinity.
