The Nicosia District Court on Friday imposed suspended prison sentences on two Social Welfare Services officers in connection with the 2019 death of 14-year-old Stylianos Constantinou, according to a statement by the Law Office.
The two defendants pleaded guilty to offences concerning the deliberate neglect of official duty by a public officer.
The first defendant, who was convicted on three charges, was sentenced to ten months in prison on each charge, with the sentences to run concurrently. The second defendant was sentenced to eight months in prison on one charge.
According to the Law Office, the court ordered that the sentences be suspended for three years, after taking mitigating factors into account.
The first convicted person was found guilty over actions during the period from March to December 2011. At the time, the person had a duty to protect and care for the underage Stylianos and was aware of the abuse and neglect he was experiencing, but deliberately neglected to carry out that duty.
In particular, the Law Office said the officer failed to take measures to protect the child despite knowing that he was being subjected to physical violence by his father. The officer also failed to ensure protective measures were taken despite being aware that the father slaughtered animals in front of the child at the farm he maintained, and did not proceed with removing the minor from the family home.
Second officer found to have shown conscious indifference
In relation to the second convicted person, the statement said that between July 2014 and September 2016, while also having a duty to safeguard the protection and care of the minor, the officer showed conscious indifference to Stylianos’ case.
The officer deliberately failed to investigate the family’s living conditions and to take protective measures, the Law Office said.
In its ruling, the court stressed that the two defendants, as officers of the Social Welfare Services, had been entrusted with the duty of protecting the welfare and care of Stylianos, who, because of his age, was considered a vulnerable person.
It also noted that public officers holding such positions of trust must carry out their duties with integrity, consistency and conscientiousness. When the necessary protection is not provided, the court said, public trust is shaken, state institutions are undermined, as is the functioning of the state itself.
The court further stated that the defendants “not only showed indifference but deliberately failed to perform their duty”, stressing that “the fate and protection of a vulnerable minor was in their hands and they did not do what was required”.
The case was handled on behalf of the Attorney General by public prosecutor Elena Constantinou, the Law Office said.
Source: CNA
