A fitness-obsessed Brit made his daughter sign a lifetime “contract” promising to never put on weight – and weighed her almost daily while ruling his family with an iron first, according to a report.
Rachid Khadla, 56, faces charges of cruelty to children and assault due to the alleged treatment of his now adult daughter, Amira, and sons Hicham and Karim, Hyde News & Pictures reported.
“I, Amira Khadla, will never allow myself to put on weight. I will do a lot of exercises to make sure I never get fat, even before I die, ”wrote Khadla’s daughter in her 2012 agreement, heard in court.
Amira’s domineering father also allegedly assaulted her – regularly hitting her with a spoon, punching her in the chest and even once throwing a chair at her – and deciding what she would wear, who she could see and what she could watch on TV, according to the news agency.
The fitness fanatic, from Windsor on the outskirts of London, was always concerned about his children’s waist and weighed them to ensure they didn’t gain weight, the newspaper said.
He also smothered his son, now 18, and beat the children with spoons if he believed they had misbehaved, the court heard on Tuesday.
Khadla’s wife for 27 years, Sarah, did not intervene in the abuse, but supported his accusation, saying he had an “explosive temper”, according to the report.
The father was said to have been “aggravated” by his youngest son, Hicham, who had learning difficulties. In October 2019, he reportedly attacked the boy for being too slow when cleaning his sister’s room.
“He punched Hicham in the chest several times and then pushed him into his sister’s bed,” said prosecutor Alex Krikler.
“He then put both hands around his neck and strangled him for some time – five to 10 seconds – before pulling him up, punching him in the chest and leaving,” he said. “Hicham tried to say ‘stop’, but was unable to speak.
“He was unable to breathe and, although the marks left by the strangulation were relatively small, the incident was extremely frightening,” added Krikler.
Hicham told his mother the next day that his father had “crossed the line” and then shared his ordeal with schoolmates while the family celebrated his sister’s graduation from university.
The boys told their teachers what Hicham had said to them and the team informed the police, who arrested Khadla that night.
“For the smallest transgressions at home, he said he would regularly receive ‘the spoon’,” Krikler told the jury.
“His father made him reach out and beat his palms with a wooden spoon. He also described how his father pushed and punched him and occasionally threw things at him, ”he said.
“The abuse was not just physical. The defendant would also threaten with extreme violence, which would “splash his brain on the ceiling and kill him”. Your father would say he was weak, ”added Krikler.
The eldest son, Karim, now 26, told of “control, temper and violence” – and being hit in the head so hard when he was 15 that he was knocked down.
Karim left the house and severed all ties with the family before the charges arose.
Krikler said the mother “describes the control he had over the family and how he had an explosive temper and was angry for no reason. This anger that she describes as being directed at children. “
Khadla claimed that he attacked Hicham in “self-defense”, saying he was afraid of his enraged son, so he tried to restrain him.
“When asked how he would discipline his children, he said that when they were younger, he would hit them on the buttocks, but on the other hand, he said he had never beaten or physically punished them,” said Kirkler.
“He denied having threatened his children or hurt him physically, saying that he sometimes screamed, but that was all. He denied controlling his children. “
Khadla faces three counts of cruelty to children and two of assault that caused real bodily harm.