A nine-year-old boy has been rescued after being locked inside his dad’s van for nearly 18 months.
The teen is now in a hospital in eastern France after being found ‘lying in a foetal position, naked, covered by a blanket on top of a mound of trash and near excrement’.
He had been confined to a sitting position contained in the vehicle for thus long he can not walk, Prosecutor Nicolas Heitz added in a press release.
Police were alerted by a neighbour who heard the ‘sounds of a baby’ coming from the van within the village of Hagenbach near the borders of Switzerland and Germany on Monday.
The boy’s father, who has been detained, allegedly told investigators he put his son within the van in November 2024 ‘to guard him’ because his partner desired to send him to a psychiatric hospital.
However the prosecutor said there have been no medical records of the teen having any psychiatric problems, while school records show he had good grades.
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Mr Heitz said the boy told investigators he had ‘big difficulties’ along with his father’s partner and thought he ‘had no selection’ but to lock him up.
He said he hadn’t showered since 2024.
The daddy was handed preliminary kidnapping and other charges and kept in custody.
His partner denied knowledge that the boy was within the van, in line with the prosecutor.
She was handed preliminary charges, including for failure to assist a minor at risk, and released under judicial supervision.
The boy’s 12-year-old sister and the 10-year-old daughter of his father’s partner were put within the care of social services.
The prosecutor’s office is investigating whether anyone else knew what was happening to the kid.
Family and friends told investigators they thought the boy was in a psychiatric institution.
His teachers were told he had transferred to a special school, in line with the prosecutor’s office.
Authorities didn’t release the names of the victim or relations.
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