During the assault, the man shouted at the boy, “I am your master.” The video of the assault, which went viral on TikTok, led to the arrest of the 59-year-old by police on charges of aggravated abuse, also in relation to the couple’s three younger daughters.

The parents are no longer living together.

The arrest, however, was not validated by the investigating judge (GIP), who acknowledged the video as evidence but considered the incident to be an isolated episode—albeit reprehensible—of improper use of disciplinary measures, rather than part of a broader pattern of harassment and violence such as to constitute the offence of aggravated family abuse.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office, through deputy prosecutor Sebastiano Ardita and prosecutor Alberto Santisi, has announced it will appeal the decision to the Review Court.

In the meantime, the Juvenile Court has ordered the temporary suspension of parental responsibility over all four children while proceedings against the parents continue. The children have been placed in the care of their maternal grandparents.

In its ruling, the court has prohibited both parents from approaching the children and ordered that any meetings between the children and their mother take place in protected settings.

A legal guardian has also been appointed for the children. The court has scheduled a hearing to summon both the parents and the grandparents and has ordered that the 11-year-old be heard separately at a later date in a protected setting.

Further details have emerged regarding the identification of both the child and the father following the circulation of the TikTok video.

The boy was immediately recognised by officers of the Catania police’s Mobile Squad, who had already dealt with him in June 2025. At that time, police had found the child riding a bicycle while attempting to reach his mother and sisters at a shopping centre.

The case had been referred to the Juvenile Prosecutor’s Office, which in July instructed municipal social services to monitor the family situation and, later that month, formally requested an investigation.

According to findings by the Juvenile Prosecutor’s Office, however, the referral did not lead to concrete action due to dysfunctions in the delivery of social services.

The case escalated after the video of the assault, filmed by one of the younger sisters using the mother’s phone, was posted online on January 3.

The footage had been secretly transferred by the 11-year-old to his own smartphone and then uploaded using a relative’s social media account.

ANSA