Father left 11-year-old son at home while he went on holiday to Italy, court hears
A father abandoned his 11-year-old son, leaving him with a stranger while he went on holiday to Italy for five days, the court heard yesterday.
The father, who cannot be named for legal reasons, left his young son alone in their Edinburgh flat with a lodger, who had only moved in the day prior.
The lodger had explicitly not agreed to care for the son, and the father had left him without adequate care and adult supervision. The court heard that the father had left him at home in order to boost his “independence”.
The accused appeared at the City Sheriffs Court on Wednesday and accepted the charges of wilful neglect in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering and injury to health.
Fiscal depute Alan Morrison said to the court that the flat had been advertised for rent and the lodger had paid in advance for a month.
The father had asked the lodger to move in a day earlier than planned before informing him that he intended to catch a 3am flight to Italy the following morning.
Mr Morrison said: “[The lodger] asked if his son was going with him. The accused replied no, he would be staying at the property.”
He added: “The accused said that as [the lodger] was there, he could look after him.”
The lodger said he couldn’t as he had plans, yet when he woke the next morning, he found that the father had left and his son remained.
Mr Morrison said: “[The lodger] asked the child what he was going to do as he was planning to leave for the day.
“The child said he would go with him and [the lodger] said he couldn’t come as he was going to the pub.”
He returned the following day around 7pm. In the meantime, the child had reportedly attempted to microwave a frozen fish and squirted washing up liquid in the dishwasher in an attempt to clean the dishes.
The lodger left again the next day and received a text message from the child using his father’s phone inquiring as to when he was returning.
When the lodger went to work on Monday, he informed his colleagues of the situation who urged him to report to the police.
Mr Morrison said: “[The lodger] reported that only at this point did he realise how inappropriate the situation was and the police were contacted.”
He added: “The child was found at his school having got himself up, dressed himself, and made his way there.”
The court heard that the father returned from his trip on 5 December, 2018, five days after he had left. He found his son had been taken into emergency foster care.
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