'We have to take my son's freedom away': Dad heartbroken after autistic son forced to eat twigs
A Cork father whose son was subjected to a horrific attack in which he was forced to eat twigs has said they can’t let their son out on his own anymore.
Speaking to 96FM and as reported in today's
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In the attack, his 14-year-old son was force-fed twigs and made to expose himself. Footage of the attack was allegedly posted to facebook. (It has since been removed.)
Mr Davin said he learned of the attack when a local girl - the family lives in Carrigaline, Co Cork - came to the family home to tell him about it.
“I was quite shocked, I was quite stunned, because in the past when people have come and told me what has happened to him, it has been that they’ve called him names or thrown stones at him,” Mr Davin said.
“But this attack was just beyond anything that has happened in the past, or what we have heard has happened in the past.
“It was like being hit with a hammer, I just didn’t know what to think. It just makes your heart so heavy, it just hurts so much."
Mr Davin said that since the attack - which he describes as a "parent's worst nightmare" - he feels even more protective of his son, to the extent he no longer wants to let him leave the house alone.
He said: "My son, the little bit of freedom that he did have, we have to take it away from him, we can’t let him out now. He can’t go down to the local shop, he can’t go down to the village anymore. His freedom has been taken away.
“We have always been worried about him going out, but equally it is heartbreaking to try and stop him.
“He needs to have his life too, he’s entitled to go and run around and hang out and stuff, but we have always been worried about it and made sure he didn’t stay out too late at night. And now the worst thing that could have happened has happened really.
“My heart is breaking. He’s done nothing wrong but he’s having something taken away from him and we have to take it away from him.
“It needs to be peppered with promises of other things, but we haven’t totally worked it out yet."
He said there were serious questions for his son's attackers and for their parents.
“It brings up a social question," he said. "How did we get here? What made these children act like that? What’s going on with them? What’s broken? What’s wrong that this is something that you consider entertainment and what brought you to that warped decision?”
Mr Davin said that questions should also be asked of the attackers’ parents.
“Have a look inside yourself and ask yourself how did my child, who grew up from an innocent baby, do something like this?”
