Man tried to abduct child from Aldi but was thwarted by brother, 7, who blocked his way and held on to sibling's leg
17 September 2023, 08:09 | Updated: 17 September 2023, 09:22
A man has been jailed for trying to abduct a child at an Aldi - and he was only stopped when the boy's seven-year-old brother thwarted him.
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Sergejus Paskevicius, 60, tried to pick up the three-year-old boy at the discount store in Greater Manchester in July last year.
The two boys had been waiting for their mother to pay.
She said "every parent's worst nightmare" unfolded as she turned her back for a few seconds and the Lithuanian man tried to take her child.
But his older brother stopped him by standing in front of him and grabbing his brother's leg.
The heroic child was left traumatised and suffering from PTSD.
"My son can't go and do normal things like go to the park, to the circus, or to the shops," the mother said.
Paskevicius's defence lawyer Robert Elias said his client may have just wanted "affection or a cuddle".
Judge Tina Landale, sentencing Paskevicius to three years and two months for child abduction at Manchester Minshull Street, said he would have "taken him away" if the older brother had not intervened.
