Daughter reports abuse, father arrested in New Belgrade
A minor reported that her father was physically hurting her mother. Police found amphetamine and marijuana in the New Belgrade flat, and prosecutors are seeking custody.
- In New Belgrade, police arrested B. G. (47), a suspect in a domestic violence and unlawful drug possession case.
- His minor daughter reported that her father was physically hurting her mother, with the violence said to have occurred on June 12.
- A search of the flat turned up amphetamine and marijuana.
- Prosecutors have proposed custody, citing the risk of flight, influence on witnesses, and repeat offending.
A domestic violence report rarely comes from someone who finds it easy to make one. In New Belgrade, a minor went to the police and said that her father was physically hurting her mother. Acting on that report, officers arrested B. G. (47), who is a suspect for now, not a convicted man.
Police were responding to a report tied to events on June 12. The man was detained on suspicion of domestic violence. During the response, while searching the flat where the family lived, officers also found narcotics, amphetamine and marijuana, so a further suspicion of unlawful drug possession was added against the same person.
The minor who filed the report has not been named, and will not be, under the law that protects children involved in such proceedings. For the same reason, the mother, said to be the injured party, has not been named either. In domestic violence cases, the identities of victims and witnesses are protected even when proceedings have only just begun.
What happens after the arrest?
After being detained, the suspect was brought before the competent prosecutor’s office. The Third Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade has proposed that he be held in custody. The stated reasons are the risk of flight, the possibility of influencing witnesses, and concern that, if free, he could repeat the offence. The court decides on the proposal, weighing whether the conditions for custody are met.
According to the available information, the suspect did not comment on the domestic violence charge. He admitted to possessing the drugs. These are two separate legal classifications handled within the same case, but each is proven independently of the other. Admitting one offence does not establish guilt for the other.
At this stage of the proceedings, the presumption of innocence applies. The prosecution sets out the suspicion and proposes measures, and the burden of proof remains on it. Guilt is established only by a final, binding judgment, which has not been reached in this case. Everything described here is therefore an allegation of the investigation, not a fact established by a court.
Why does the daughter’s report matter?
A child’s report in a domestic violence case is not just a procedural detail. It shows that the household held a situation the girl recognised as dangerous and chose to bring before the police. Specialists in violence protection have warned for years that children often stay silent the longest, fearing the consequences both for themselves and for the parent who is being harmed.
In this case, the system responded quickly. The report was followed by an arrest, a search, and a custody proposal, all within a short span of time. That is the sequence the law sets out for situations where there is a suspicion of immediate danger to the victim.
The question remains what happens to the family after an intervention like this. Protecting the injured mother, supporting the minor daughter, and the further course of the proceedings pass from the police to other institutions, primarily the social work centre and the prosecution. In your view, how can the state better protect children who decide to report violence in their own home?
