UK man jailed over acid attack on three-year-old son

LONDON: A man has been jailed for 16 years for planning a “monstrous” acid attack on his threeyear-old son, which left the child “scarred for life”.

Five other men were also convicted on Wednesday over the attack, which prosecutors say was an attempt by the father to show that his mother was unfit to take care of the little boy.

When passing the sentence, Judge Robert Juckes said: “Even battlehardened crown court judges were sickened when they heard the news that someone had attacked a three-year-old with sulphuric acid”.

He added that it was a “monstrous breach of trust”.

The 40-year-old father, originally from Afghanistan, provided “obviously strong acid” and was “the instigator and planner” of the attack, Jucke said.

Prosecutors say the man, who has not been named to protect the identity of his son, was motivated to plan the attack after his wife walked out on him in 2016.

He hired the other guilty men to attack the child at a shop in the city of Worcester in central England.

The attack happened in July 2018, when Adam Cech squirted acid at the boy, who was in a pushchair, from a small plastic bottle.

The victim’s mother said in a victim statement that “my son is OK, he’s a happy child, but he’s been scarred for life and will need continuous support”.

Even battle-hardened crown court judges were sickened ... that someone had attacked a three-year-old with sulphuric acid.

Robert Juckes