A South African father has dodged prison after throwing his one-year-old daughter off a roof during a protest.
The man, 38, was caught throwing the toddler from the roof of a shack in an illegal township in April last year. Protests broke out in the Joe Slovo township, Port Elizabeth, after police-protected demolition workers were ordered to tear down 90 shacks on the illegal settlement.
The father, who has not been named to protect the identity of the child, went onto his shack roof to stop it being demolished before hurling the baby up in the air.
Yesterday, he walked free from New Brighton Magistrate’s Court after pleading guilty to child abuse. He was originally charged with attempted murder, but this was dropped by the state and his plea to the lesser offence of child abuse was accepted.
The 38-year-old received one year in prison suspended for five years and was fined 5,000 rand, approximately £265. Around 150 people were protesting the demolition, with some throwing bricks and burning tyres.
Members of the South African Police Service had mostly restored order before the man climbed onto the roof, threatening to kill his daughter if demolition crews didn’t leave his house alone. The man was pictured dangling the toddler by her foot as he argued with police who tried to calm the situation.
Magistrates heard the girl was thrown into the air within minutes of police officers attempting to bring the man down from the roof. The baby was safely caught by an officer who ran forward to save her as other officers tackled and arrested her father moments later.
Speaking to local media at the time, police spokesman Captain Andre Beetge said: ‘At about 10.40am a 38-year-old man climbed onto the roof of one of the structures and held a one-year-old girl in his hands. This was done to force the team not to demolish the structure. Due to the dangerous threat to the safety of the child police set out a plan to rescue the little girl and arrest the male and one of our officers successfully caught the girl as she was flung.
‘The 38-year-old father has been charged with the attempted murder of his daughter and the case is being handled by the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences unit’. The toddler was not harmed and was given back to her mother, overseen by social services.
Photo Credit: Getty
