He recognized the « violence » gesture but denied having wanted “to do harm” to his son: the Hauts-de-Seine Assize Court on Friday sentenced the father of a two-month-old infant to five years in prison for fatally shaking him at the end of February 2019.
Recognized gestures “are necessarily guided by the desire to physically reach the child so that his crying stops (and) cannot constitute involuntary and clumsy gestures”decided the president when reading the verdict.
The man was found guilty of violence resulting in death without intention of causing death to a minor under 15 years of age and will be incarcerated at a later date.
At the heart of this trial, shaken baby syndrome, about which the public authorities communicated in particular during a campaign in 2022.
The association Action Against Childhood Violence (Avi) co-founded by the victim’s mother, Aude Lafitte, contributed to this initiative.
During his trial which began on Monday, Nathanaël K., 43, mentioned the trail of “the accident” because of “the accumulation of fatigue, anxiety, bad choices”.
“Neither negligence nor clumsiness”
“Justice is long overdue in this case”lamented the attorney general who had requested 8 years of imprisonment during her indictment.
For her, he “there was neither negligence nor clumsiness on the part of the accused (but) a positive act of violence which led to the death of his child”.
At the end of February 2019, Nathanaël K. arrived at the emergency room with his two-month-old son, Timothée, whom he was looking after while his mother had gone to a medical appointment, explaining that he would have felt unwell.
“When he comes out of the scanner, the doctor (…) tells us that there is a lot of blood in his brain, that he may have shaken baby syndrome”recounted the mother, Aude Lafitte, to AFP ahead of the trial, very moved.
He died a few days later, the doctors being unable to save him.
While his son is still hospitalized, the father disappears, announces that he wants to commit suicide, before finally returning to the hospital.
After first lying, he confesses to shaking his son “two or three seconds for him to shut up”.
During the hearing, haggard, he apologizes, recognizes the facts and mentions “three or four movements” over a period between “five and ten seconds”miming shaking up and down.
The shaken baby is one of the deadliest forms of abuse for an infant, dying as a result of shaking in more than 10% of cases according to the High Authority for Health (HAS).
In this case, the prosecution, the experts interviewed and the defense are unanimous regarding this diagnosis.
“The worst betrayal”
Intentionality was one of the key points of the trial: when the public prosecutor and the civil party – the child’s mother and his maternal grandparents – denounced the “denial” of the father, the defense endeavored to emphasize the involuntary nature of the act.
Why did the accused talk about “bloodshots” of which it would have been customary “from a very young age” in a message to his family where he blames himself for the death of his son? “I didn’t want anyone to think it was someone else,”replies Nathanaël K.
Almost six years after the events, the Advocate General deeply regretted a lack “analysis (concerning) the passage to action”.
“You will ask yourself why, and sometimes there is no answer”argued Me Xavier Autain, lawyer for Nathanaël K, for whom “there are answers when there is an intention”.
“This violence represents the worst betrayal, of the obvious trust we place in (…) a dad, who should only be there to protect” asserted Me Céline Lasek, lawyer for Ms. Lafitte.
On the civil parties’ bench, Aude Lafitte, very dignified, a white rabbit comforter perpetually clutched between her fingers, cried several times, without a sound.
Based on studies carried out abroad, HAS estimated in 2023 that this violence affects between 15 and 56 children out of 100,000 per year.