site.btaBotevgrad Regional Court Orders Detention of Man Charged with Causing Grievous Bodily Harm to Five-year-old

At the request of the prosecution, the Regional Court in Botevgrad ordered the pre-trial detention of 24-year-old G.G., who has been charged with causing grievous bodily harm to a five-year-old child in a case involving domestic violence, the press office of the prosecution service said Friday. The ruling may be appealed before the Sofia District Court.

At this stage of the investigation, witnesses have been questioned, a crime-scene inspection has been carried out, and a forensic medical examination has been commissioned and completed. Investigators established that on August 11, in the village of Novachene, the accused allegedly struck the young boy repeatedly.

The child suffered grievous bodily harm in the form of a serious and life-threatening deterioration of his overall health, including a head injury, brain damage, facial injuries, and fractures of a rib and the jaw. The alleged assault took place in the context of domestic violence, as the accused and the child were living in the same household.

The prosecution said the offense was committed with direct intent and carries a prison sentence of between three and 15 years.

On the morning of August 12, the child was admitted in serious condition to the Dr Stamen Iliev General Hospital for Active Treatment in Montana. Doctors stabilized him, and later that afternoon he was airlifted by medical helicopter to Sofia for further treatment.

According to initial reports, after the assault, the child’s mother took him to the hospital in Montana, where doctors immediately alerted the police.