Trial of Father Accused of Assault Resulting in Death of 17-Month-Old Infant
A hearing on the case of a father accused of assaulting his own 17-month-old child was held in Branch Five of the Criminal Court of Tehran Province. The infant was sexually abused by his father in Shahr-e Rey and died following hospitalization. The Medical Examiner’s Office declared the cause of death to be internal bleeding resulting from sexual abuse.
According to the Hrana news agency, citing IRNA, a hearing on the case of a father accused of assaulting his own 17-month-old child was held in Branch Five of the Criminal Court of Tehran Province.
Based on this report, the trial session commenced with the mother of the 17-month-old child, as the plaintiff, absent from court, though her lawyers were present. One of the plaintiff’s lawyers said in this session: “We are attempting to obtain the plaintiff’s consent, and we may soon be able to present her notarized consent to the court.”
The 44-year-old defendant, an Afghan national, then took the stand in his defense and stated: “I do not accept this charge. When I woke up that day, I found the child in poor condition. I believe one of our neighbors assaulted her, and that is why I have filed a complaint against them.”
The judge told the defendant: “But in your previous statements, you confessed to assault resulting in death, and you wrote your statements in your own handwriting. How are you now making a new claim?”
The defendant stated: “I did not make those statements.”
Ultimately, after hearing the defendant’s defense, the court judges adjourned the hearing to summon his 11-year-old daughter and hear her testimony.
In the first days of Farvardin this year, a young woman brought her 17-month-old daughter to the hospital, stating that she had left home to shop and left the child with his father. However, when she returned home, she noticed her daughter was not well. The child developed a fever a few hours later, which is when she brought her to the hospital. When doctors examined the child, they found she had been abused and suffered severe internal bleeding; therefore, they reported the matter to the Shahr-e Rey police.
Regarding who abused her child, she said: “I do not know who did this. I did not leave my child with a stranger. My daughter was with her father.”
The defendant was subsequently arrested and interrogated based on his wife’s account. He initially denied everything but later confessed to his actions.
Meanwhile, the Medical Examiner’s Office reported to the prosecutor that Sanaz died due to internal bleeding and the severity of injuries resulting from very violent child abuse, and her medical file shows that significant efforts were made to save the child but were unsuccessful.
It should be noted that in media terminology, licensed news outlets use the term “abuse and mistreatment” to refer to assault and various forms of sexual harm.
Source: Hrana
