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2mo ago

Alsace Father Jailed After 9-Year-Old Found Confined in Work Van

The case has triggered twin probes into how school or local checks failed to flag his year-long disappearance.

"Il devait uriner dans des bouteilles vides" : le récit glaçant de la séquestration du petit garçon de neuf ans par son père en Alsace
Nicolas Heitz, procureur de la République de Mulhouse. [SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP]
L’emplacement où était stationnée la camionnette où était séquestré l’enfant de 9 ans à quelques mètres du logement de la famille.
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Overview

  • The boy, found on April 6 in Hagenbach after a neighbor called gendarmes, was discovered in his father’s van malnourished, filthy, and unable to stand or walk.
  • At a Wednesday briefing, the Mulhouse prosecutor said confinement began in late 2024 and detailed conditions that included cold meals, urinating into bottles, no shower since the end of 2024, and a camera aimed at the van.
  • The father admitted sequestering and depriving care and is in pre-trial detention facing up to 30 years in prison, while his partner is under judicial control on charges for failing to assist or report and faces up to seven years.
  • The boy remains hospitalized in Mulhouse for medical and psychological care, and all three children from the household have been placed under provisional protection.
  • The Education Ministry opened an administrative inquiry into missed alerts after the family’s 2024 move, since in France a new school normally requests a child’s file only after enrollment, which can leave a gap if no one enrolls the child.