Father who filmed cyclist kneeing five-year-old daughter wins legal battle

The father who famously filmed a cyclist kneeing his daughter before he was forced to pay compensation has won a legal battle.

Pedestrians and cyclists have a somewhat strained relationship, with seemingly very few people aware of what the rules of the road actually are when it comes to travelling on two wheels.

Sometimes it's the pedestrians who are guilty of being far too aggressive with the cyclists, as we saw last year when someone on a bicycle was pushed into a canal when going past a family, whereas other times it can be the cyclists at fault.

Back in 2020, a clip quickly went viral after Patrick Mpasa shared what happened on Christmas Day to his five-year-old daughter Neia, as she was knocked over by a cyclist's knee as he struggled to squeeze past the family on an icy walk in Belgium.

Despite an overwhelming majority agreeing that the cyclist, who has only been identified as Jacques D, was at fault - a court case disagreed, with the judge arguing that he had faced enough criticism on social media.

Later on, Mr Mpasa was even sued for defamation by the cyclist and forced to pay €4,500 (£3900) three years later, but after the case was revisited by another judge as part of an appeal, that decision has been overturned.

His daughter was sent flying by the blow (Newsflash)

Lawyer Jacques Englebert, who represented Mr Mpasa, told the Daily Mail: "In essence, the court said that posting the video was a freedom of expression and it was not a crime, so the original ruling was overturned.

"The court said that by uploading the clip, the father had contributed to the public debate on cyclists and pedestrians, and it was not an issue."

Following the court ruling on Thursday 5 March, the cyclist was also ordered to pay €2,040 (£1768) in court costs.

Mr Englebert added: "The cyclist had argued that by uploading the video, he had been identified, and the initial reports said he was between forty and fifty years old when he was in fact well over sixty years old.

"Uploading the video did not identify him or his address, he says he was insulted as a result, but has not been able to provide any evidence of this."

Despite his daughter being knocked over, Mr Mpasa simply chased after the man and asked for an apology, as he wanted to set a good example for his children.

Speaking at the time, he recalled: "He explained what happened and asked us to withdraw the police complaint, but he showed no remorse and did not apologise.

"A lot of people tell me that I should have hit him, but I don't agree and, in any case, I was in front of my children, which would have made things even worse for them. I also don't want a witch hunt, I just want him to apologise."

Jacques D previously provided an explanation for the incident, describing it as an accident as he looked to steady himself in the slippy conditions.

He said: "When I was riding close to the girl, I felt my rear wheel sliding. To avoid a fall, I balanced myself with a movement of my knee. I felt that I might have hit the girl, but did not immediately realise she had been knocked over.'

But the prosecution argued his statement seemed very unlikely, stating: "He was simply annoyed by the people on the path whom he had to swerve around all the time,' they said. 'He gave the child a "knee punch" out of sheer annoyance because an obstacle was in his way for the umpteenth time."