Overview
- Gendarmes in Hagenbach, alerted by a neighbor, forced open the van Monday and found the child naked, malnourished, and unable to walk.
- The boy is now in a Mulhouse hospital receiving urgent medical care and psychological evaluation after prolonged confinement in filth.
- The 43-year-old father admitted keeping his son in the vehicle since about November 2024 to “protect” him and is in pretrial detention on sequestration and deprivation-of-care charges.
- The father's 37-year-old partner is charged for failing to report or assist and is under judicial supervision, and child services placed the household’s two other minors in provisional care.
- Prosecutors have opened a judicial inquiry that reviews school records and surveillance footage to learn how the absence went unnoticed and whether others share responsibility.