A police sergeant who pleaded guilty to a charge of neglect of duty in connection with the 2019 death of 14-year-old Stylianos will learn his sentence on 30 November at the Nicosia District Court.
Following yesterday's presentation of the facts of the case and mitigation arguments by the defence, the hearing process has been completed, leaving only the sentencing stage outstanding.
According to the prosecution, on 13 May 2019, Agia Varvara Gymnasium was informed of a suicide attempt by Stylianos that had occurred on 11 May using his father's hunting shotgun.
The teenager confirmed the incident during a meeting with one of his teachers but did not explain what had motivated him.
After being unable to contact the Social Welfare Services by telephone, the teacher informed the Pera Chorio Nisou Police Station.
The police officer who answered the call, the defendant and officer in charge of the A shift, stated that he would notify the social worker on duty.
At approximately 8.19pm, the social worker contacted the teacher and confirmed that she had been informed by police. She also said she had spoken with the child's mother, who claimed that the family's hunting firearms had since been locked away and that the teenager no longer had access to them.
The prosecution argues that the sergeant failed to carry out an independent investigation to verify the information regarding the minor's access to the firearm.
He did not visit the family's home and did not instruct any subordinate officer to investigate the claim.
According to the prosecution, he should have established the identity of the firearm owner, the storage conditions of the weapon and the manner in which the minor had gained access to it.
The prosecution further alleges that the officer provided only vague and general information to the next shift about the attempted suicide, omitting the fact that a hunting shotgun had been involved.
Defence arguments
Defence lawyer Elias Stefanou described the officer's conduct as a serious error of judgment rather than deliberate misconduct.
He argued that his client immediately informed the Social Welfare Services and that the omission did not result from malicious intent or conscious disregard for the child's life.
The defence also stressed that the officer's failure was not directly linked to the death of Stylianos, which occurred almost four months later, in September 2019.
Additional mitigating factors presented by the defence included:
- The officer's guilty plea before the start of the trial.
- His previously clean criminal record.
- His age, 58.
- His service in the Cyprus Police since 1995.
The defence also referred to the possibility of disciplinary proceedings and the risk that the officer could permanently lose his position within the police force.
Separate proceedings
It is recalled that during the early stages of proceedings relating to the death of Stylianos, the court ruled that the police officer should be tried separately from the other defendants because of the overlap in evidence between the two cases and the fact that many witnesses would be the same.
The trial involving the remaining defendants is continuing before a different district court.
