A British man who pleaded guilty to negligence over the fatal fall of his three-year-old son from a hotel window in Cyprus has been fined 3,000 euros, equivalent to about 3,380 US dollars.
Joshua Patric Foster, 38, wept on Friday in the Paphos District Court as Judge Froso Christodoulidou ruled that a prison term was not required. The negligence charge carries a maximum penalty of four years in prison and a fine of 4,250 euros, or about 4,788 US dollars.
Christodoulidou said a prison sentence could be avoided. She said the defendant’s actions during the July 12 incident did not demonstrate a degree of negligence that warranted imprisonment.
The judge stated there was no evidence Foster was impaired by alcohol to the point of acting recklessly, although alcohol was in his system. His omission was simply not ensuring the window was closed.
Christodoulidou also cited the guilty plea, which avoided a lengthy trial. She pointed to his cooperation with police, his lack of a criminal record and his deep remorse.
Court evidence showed Foster lifted his son up to a fourth-floor hotel window next to an elevator after the boy asked to view the hotel waterpark. The toddler slipped from his hands and fell 12 meters, or 40 feet, to his death.
The incident happened a day after Foster arrived in Cyprus for a holiday at the King Evelthon Hotel with his wife, son, young daughter, and in-laws.
The judge described the boy’s death as a tragic event that happened in an instant. The court also weighed defense arguments that a prison sentence could cost Foster his job, as his auditing firm had started disciplinary proceedings.
Foster hugged his parents after the verdict. They had accompanied him to court throughout the hearings.
In a written statement issued on Friday, the family thanked the judge for applying maximum mitigation and asked for privacy. "We are relieved that this process is now over, but for our family, the consequences of this tragedy will never end," the statement said. "Our son was deeply loved and will be forever missed."
Foster’s lawyer, Alexandros Alexandrou, said his client was free to return home on Friday or Saturday. Alexandrou said the case should not have been brought to trial and the court accepted the incident was a momentary error.
