A 9-year-old boy was kept locked in his father's van for years — AP
In France, law enforcement officials carried out a special operation to rescue a 9-year-old boy whom his father had kept locked in a van for two years.
The Associated Press reports on the case.
The child was found in critical condition in a small village near the border with Switzerland and Germany following an anonymous tip from a neighbor.
A local resident alerted the police to suspicious noises coming from the abandoned vehicle. When officers forced open the van’s door, they were met with a horrific scene of complete exhaustion and unsanitary conditions.
The child’s condition shocked even the experienced medical professionals and investigators who arrived at the scene.
“The boy was lying in a fetal position, naked, covered with a blanket on a pile of trash and excrement,” according to case materials released by the Associated Press.
According to doctors’ findings, the boy suffered from severe malnutrition and had nearly lost the ability to walk due to prolonged immobility. The investigation established that the child had not received proper care and had not been bathed since 2024.
The child’s father attempted to justify his actions by citing a specific understanding of safety for his own son.
He told law enforcement that he had locked the boy up to “protect him” from a conflict with his partner, who allegedly planned to send the child to a psychiatric hospital.
German police conducted large-scale raids against a far-right group.
In Ireland, police dispersed a protest near an oil refinery.
