Facts
The Federal Court has rendered a judgment in a case of violation of the duty of care or education (art. 219 SCC). The appellant, A., was sentenced by the Police Court of the Eastern Vaud district to a custodial sentence of nine months, suspended for two years, for having violated his duty of care or education towards his minor children, B. and C.
The facts took place between August 2008 and the end of 2014. The appellant acted repeatedly, violating his duty of care or education, by physically and psychologically mistreating his children, hitting them, insulting them, and demeaning them. The children showed signs of suffering and distress, and the experts recommended long-term individual psychotherapeutic care.
The appellant filed a criminal appeal with the Federal Court, contesting the commission of the offense and the statute of limitations of the criminal action.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined the conditions for the commission of the offense of violation of the duty of care or education (art. 219 SCC). It held that the author must have violated his duty of care or education or failed to fulfill this duty, and that the violation of the duty of care or education or the failure to fulfill this duty must have had the effect of endangering the physical or psychological development of the minor.
The Federal Court also examined the issue of the statute of limitations of the criminal action. It held that the offense under art. 219 SCC presupposes that the author acts repeatedly or violates his duty of education in a lasting manner, thereby endangering the physical or psychological development of the minor, and that the commission of separate acts or lasting…