Dad who plotted acid attack on his son, 3, jailed for 16 years

A man has been found guilty and sentenced to 16 years in prison for plotting an acid attack on his three-year-old son amid a custody battle with his ex-wife.

The child’s father, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was convicted unanimously by a jury at Worcester Crown Court in the UK following a six-week trial, the court confirmed to CNN.

The 40-year-old was convicted alongside five others who were found guilty of conspiracy to apply corrosive fluid with intent.

The Crown alleged that the man enlisted others to attack his son in a bid to win more contact with the child in an effort to make it look like his mother was unfit to care for him.

Jonathan Rees QC, prosecuting, said the father was the “driving force” behind the July 2018 attack, and described his victim as "defenseless."

The boy was attacked by the group while he was shopping for a birthday present with his family and suffered serious injuries to his face and arm.

After the attack the victim screamed “I hurt” over and over again, jurors heard. The heartbroken mum was heard screaming: “What have you done to my baby?”

The victim's mother said in a statement that she found it “extremely hard to accept” that her child had been attacked in such a way by his father, but expressed joy over the verdict.

Superintendent Damian Pettit described the attack as “horrific” and said the boy's scars “will prove a constant reminder of that awful day.”

“It is hard for the family, the officers, and the community to comprehend how a family member could organize an attack of this nature on such a young child,” he said in a statement.

“We hope that now the perpetrators are behind bars, the family can start to focus on the future.”