Court increases sentence for attack on stepdaughter

Iceland’s Court of Appeal has increased a man’s sentence for assaulting his stepdaughter and violating child protection laws in relation to her and her two brothers, mbl.is reports. His sentence was raised from one month to two months in prison, suspended for two years.

The court found it proven that the man pushed his stepdaughter and kicked her in the leg. A lower court had convicted him of hitting her in the chest, causing bruising, but acquitted him of pushing and kicking her.

The incident took place in June 2022, when the man and the three children were with their mother and grandmother at accommodation where the family planned to stay. According to the ruling, the man became angry after finding the children in a room where he believed they were not allowed to be. He shouted at them and chased his stepdaughter outside after she insulted him, where he attacked her.

The children were very frightened and sought shelter with a woman they did not know while they waited for police. A child protection worker later arrived and arranged for them to go to their father.

The man appealed his conviction, while prosecutors sought a harsher sentence and convictions for pushing the girl and kicking her. The Court of Appeal said the man had told police at the scene that he pushed her, and his account in court could not be understood otherwise. It also found that the girl’s consistent account of being kicked was supported by her brothers’ testimony.

In deciding the sentence, the court said the offences targeted children close to the man who could have expected him to protect them. It said this made the conduct more serious.

The court upheld the lower court’s awards of compensation. The man must pay his stepdaughter 500,000 krónur and each of her brothers 400,000 krónur, plus interest. He was also ordered to pay nearly 1.3 million krónur in appeal costs.