"The lack of civic activism led to a child being abused for 2 months, his screams being heard and not a single signal being sent", the father of the child abused by his stepfather, Venislav Aleksiev, told BNT. He added that he sincerely thanked everyone who wanted a fair sentence for Adi - that's what he affectionately calls him. But not the institutions.
Because, he says, "my son is registered with social services and yet no one has looked into why he hasn't visited them". He thinks that what happened to Adrian could have been prevented. And he insists on a fair verdict.
"A child begging for life... Or rather, wanting to be killed to end it all".
"Adi dreams of what he is doing right now - to have freedom, to be able to be a child".
Adrian is now 6 and free. He will never be "free" from the nightmare he experienced, but he is in a safe place without pain. Now he enjoys everything. He now speaks both Bulgarian and German. And not like before - with only 2 words. And he categorically states that he does not want to return to his mother.
"Right now he is overcoming the pain in his own way, like most children in his place. He is trying not to think, to think that it happened to someone else. For the moment, most of it has remained in his nightmares. But psychologists expect these memories to be unlocked at any moment and then it gets really scary".
Venislav is categorical that the verdict for the atrocities committed by Petar Chernev is unfair.
"This is not realistic for either of them and they have been spared many things. One is for Petar Chernev. Two charges, as far as I understand, have been dropped, which is illogical. And accordingly, I think that the mother of the little one has also been spared the fact that she did not take him out of this environment. Everyone will think that they can do this and remain unpunished. And there are many children for whom there is simply no signal about them".
"Domestic violence? Well, what is his homework? He is neither his father, nor was Adrian registered at this address. He was like a guest there. We're not even talking about domestic violence right now.
Many questions remain unanswered.
"Including me being denied the opportunity to be a witness in the case. As far as I know, there is no explanation why they didn't allow me to be a witness in the case. To say exactly the same things. In fact, what condition the little one is in and that he will never be like other children, like his peers. Never".
"Mr. Anton Chernev - the father of Petar Chernev, who said that his son slapped my child twice and everyone made him look the worst, given that he hadn't watched these videos, as well as lawyer Davchev. Well, to be honest, the second part of what I dream of is for these people to also be held accountable for their words, just like Petar Chernev himself, because you can't say in front of the media, after you've watched what atrocities a person has committed, "well, he slapped him two or three times and that's it. There was no evidence for anything else. I don't know. This is something I also can't swallow at all. Really at all."
Adi just wants to play and have the right to childhood again. Far from the memory of the horror. And his father just a fair sentence.