Joshua Foster, 37, was arrested hours after his son fell from a fourth-floor window at the King Evelthon Beach Hotel and Resort in Chloraka on July 12.
Foster, an AI director at accountancy firm KPMG, pleaded guilty to a charge of causing death through a reckless, rash or dangerous act at a court in Paphos on Tuesday.
A further hearing will take place on October 5 when the prosecutor will set out the facts of the case and the defence will present mitigation, a court official confirmed. He faces anything from a fine to a maximum of four years in prison when he is sentenced.
Foster spent eight days in jail following his arrest and had to break the news to his daughter of her brother’s death over a video call, it has been reported.
He was allowed to return to the UK for the toddler’s funeral, on condition that he flew back to Cyprus last week in order for today’s plea hearing to take place.
Paphos district court was told in July that the boy fell through an open window when his father was holding him around his waist and swinging him from side to side.
But on Tuesday The Sun reported Foster disputes this and says he sat his son on a window ledge while waiting for a lift, without realising the window was open.
His lawyer Alexandros Alexandrou said he will ask the court to lift travel restrictions so that his client can return to the UK to be with his wife and daughter until the next hearing.
Foster decided to plead guilty to avoid a long trial and spare his family reliving the toddler’s death in court, Mr Alexandrou said.
A long trial would mean he is ‘again a victim of this tragedy’, the lawyer told the Associated Press after Tuesday’s hearing.
‘The most important thing for him is to return to his family,’ he said.
Mr Alexandrou said he will appeal if Foster, who he refused to name during the hearing, receives the maximum sentence.
Speaking of the little boy, a relative told the Daily Mail: ‘He was a truly special, easy-going little boy who brought so much joy to everyone around him.
‘He was deeply adored and his infectious smile, warm cuddles and kind heart are already so deeply missed and always will be.’
Source: Metro
Also read: 37-year-old British father pleads guilty over 3-year-old son’s death in Paphos
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