Belgian cyclist who knelt five-year-old girl on the ground for blocking his path, only has to pay € 1 in damages for abuse he received on social media
- Cyclist patted girl while walking through the park in Baraque Michel in Belgium
- A court in Verviers ruled that the man was guilty of deliberately kneeling a girl
- The judge gave him a suspended sentence and ordered him to pay the family € 1
A cyclist who caused outrage in Belgium after appearing to deliberately overthrow a child has received a suspended sentence and only has to pay the family € 1 in damages.
Images taken 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 appeared to be sticking out his knee.
A court in the Belgian city of Verviers today ruled that the man was guilty of knowingly kneeling the girl and imposed a suspended sentence on him for having been criticized enough on social media.
The five-year-old girl is knocked to the ground by a cyclist on Christmas Day while walking in a park in Baraque Michel, Belgium.
During the footage, which was shared online last year, the cyclist was seen coming out of a bend in the snowy road before hitting the young girl and sending her fall over in the snow.
Furious father Patrick Mpasa, who filmed 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.
Mr. Mpasa said he had chased the man and managed to get him to stop, but the cyclist had not repented.
The family soon has reported the matter to the police and both the cyclist and any witnesses have been asked to come forward.
Meanwhile, the local bicycle association GRACQ described the man’s behavior as ‘unacceptable’.
Today one judge opted for mild 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 continued that the cyclist had already been in custody when he was arrested.
The court ruled that the unnamed man must pay the girl’s family a symbolic fee of € 1 (86p) for the incident.
The cyclist comes out of a bend in the snowy road before bumping into the young girl and dropping her in the snow
The cyclist continues to cycle while the girl is knocked to the ground in Baraque Miche
At a court hearing on February 3, the cyclist stated that the incident happened because he was trying to keep his balance.
The cyclist said to the judge, “As I rode close to the girl, I felt my rear wheel slide off.
‘To avoid a fall, I brought myself back into balance with a knee movement. I felt myself hit the girl, but didn’t immediately realize she had fallen. ‘
However, the The prosecutor said the statement seemed very unlikely and replied, ‘He was annoyed by the people on the path who had to swerve all the time.
“He gave the child a ‘knee punch’ out of sheer exasperation because there was an obstacle in the way for the umpteenth time.
The judge also dismissed the accused version of the events, claiming, “He gave the child knee protection out of sheer exasperation at the umpteenth time an obstacle came his way.”
While the cyclist had been in prison for up to a year, the court decided to impose a suspended sentence on him, which means that he will not be sanctioned for his actions as long as he does not reoffend.