Belgian cyclist who kneed a five-year-old girl for blocking his path is ordered to pay just € 1 in compensation for abuse he received on social media
- Cyclist hit a girl as she walked through the park in Baraque Michel, Belgium
- A court in Verviers decided that the man was guilty of deliberately kneeling a girl
- The judge gave him the suspended sentence and ordered him to pay € 1 to the family
A cyclist who caused outrage in Belgium after appearing to deliberately drop a child was sentenced to a suspended sentence and was ordered to pay the family only 1 euro in damages.
The footage, which was captured in a natural park in Baraque Michel, showed the five-year-old girl walking with a woman on Christmas Day when she was hit by the cyclist who seemed to stretch her knee.
A court in the Belgian city of Verviers ruled today that the man is guilty of deliberately kneeling the girl and gave her a suspended sentence on the grounds that he was criticized enough on social media.
The five-year-old girl is thrown to the ground by the cyclist while walking in a park in Baraque Michel, Belgium, on Christmas Day
During filming, which was shared online last year, the cyclist was seen emerging from a curve in the snowy road before hitting the young girl and sending her falling in the snow.
The furious father, Patrick Mpasa, who was filming his wife and two children, later shared the video on social media asking if people agreed that he was right to complain to the police.
Mpasa said he chased the man and managed to stop him, but the cyclist did not regret it.
The family soon filed a complaint with the police and both the cyclist and the witnesses were invited to appear.
Meanwhile, the local GRACQ Cyclists Association described the man’s behavior as ‘unacceptable’.
Today one The judge opted for lenient treatment, arguing that the man had no intention of harming the girl, the incident was minor and he had already been criticized on social media.
The judge added that the cyclist was already in custody when he was arrested.
The court ruled that the unidentified man should pay the girl’s family a symbolic € 1 (86p) in compensation for the incident.
The cyclist emerges from a curve in the snowy road before hitting the young woman and making her fall in the snow
The cyclist continues to ride a bicycle while the girl is thrown to the ground in Baraque Miche
During a court hearing on February 3, the cyclist said the incident happened because he had been trying to keep his balance.
The cyclist said to the judge: ‘When I was walking near the girl, I felt my rear wheel slip.
“To avoid a fall, I regained my balance with a knee movement. I felt like I hit the girl, but I didn’t immediately notice that she had fallen. ‘
However, the The prosecutor said the statement seemed very unlikely, replying: ‘He was angry with people on the way who had to stray all the time.
‘He gave the child a’ ‘punch in the knee’ ‘out of sheer annoyance, because an obstacle was in its way for the umpteenth time.’
The judge also rejected the accused’s version of the events, claiming: ‘He knelt the child out of sheer annoyance because for the umpteenth time an obstacle came his way.’
Although the cyclist faced up to one year in prison, the court decided to apply it with a suspended sentence, which means that he will not face any penalty for his actions, as long as he does not repeat.