UK: Father attacks 3-year-old with acid; gets 16 years jail

London, Mar 7: A father was on Wednesday jailed for 16 years for planning a "monstrous" acid attack on his three-year-old son, which left the child "scarred for life".

Five other men were also convicted 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.

Passing sentence, Judge Robert Juckes said "even battle-hardened crown court judges were sickened when they heard the news that someone had attacked a three-year-old with sulphuric acid," said Juckes, calling it a "monstrous breach of trust".

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

Prosecutors say the man, who has not been named to protect the identity of his son, was motivated by his wife walking out on him in 2016 and 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".

PTI