By Canadian Press

Sentencing hearing for Calgary man guilty in five-year-old grandson’s death

Sep 24, 2019 | 2:02 AM

CALGARY — A judge is to hear sentencing arguments today in the case of a Calgary man convicted of killing his five-year-old grandson.

Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Richard Neufeld found Allan Perdomo Lopez guilty of manslaughter last month.

The judge-alone trial heard the boy, Emilio Perdomo, was sent to Canada from Mexico in 2015 so he could have a better life.

But five months after his arrival in Calgary, Emilio was taken hospital unconscious with a traumatic brain injury.

He never woke up and died eight days later in hospital.

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Crown attorneys argued Emilio was subjected to weeks of abuse and submitted photos of scars and bruises in various stages of healing all over his body.

During the trial, the Crown played a police recording from the family minivan of Perdomo Lopez tearfully praying in Spanish.

An English transcript of the intercept submitted at trial said the man was asking for forgiveness and saying he “didn’t want to kill that child.”

The prayer was one of 11 police recordings from the accused’s vehicle, home and phone that were presented as evidence.

Perdomo Lopez’s lawyer Darren Mahoney had said the remark was not a confession and that the Crown cherry-picked segments of the recordings to construct its story.

The judge said in his decision that the prayer had to be given great weight given the man’s devout Christian faith. He likened it to a witness swearing to God to tell the truth in court.

“I am satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Perdomo confessed to having killed Emilio, even though he did not want to do so,” Neufeld said.

His wife, Carolina Perdomo, was also accused initially, but the Crown stayed the charge against her earlier this year.

Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press