A nine-year-old boy has been rescued after being locked in his father’s van since November 2024 in eastern France, prosecutors have said. The child was found malnourished and unable to walk after a neighbour reported hearing sounds coming from the vehicle in the village of Hagenbach, near the Swiss and German borders.
Police forced open the van on Monday and discovered the boy lying in a foetal position, naked and covered by a blanket on top of a pile of trash and near excrement, according to prosecutor Nicolas Heitz. The child, who had been kept in the utility vehicle for months, told officers he was fed twice a day and given bottles of water, but had to urinate in plastic bottles and defecate in bin bags. He said he last showered at the end of 2024.
The 43-year-old father told police he had kept the boy in the van to protect him from his 37-year-old partner, who he claimed wanted to place the child in psychiatric care. The couple lived in a nearby flat with the boy’s 12-year-old sister and 10-year-old half-sister. The father said his partner was unaware the boy was in the van.
The father has been charged with the sequestration and arbitrary detention of a minor, as well as depriving him of proper food and medical care, and has been remanded in custody. His partner has been charged with non-assistance to a minor in danger and non-denunciation of mistreatment of a minor, and has been granted conditional bail. The three children have been placed in temporary care.
Neighbours told police they had noticed the boy’s sudden disappearance at the end of 2024 but were led to believe he had been placed in care. Some residents said they had heard occasional noises from the van but were told it was a cat. One neighbour, Danielle, described the situation as “truly devastating”, adding: “It’s horrific, there are no words.”
