Overview
- Gendarmes in Hagenbach, alerted by a neighbor on Monday, forced open a van and found the boy naked, malnourished, unable to walk, and rushed him to a Mulhouse hospital.
- The 43-year-old father admitted keeping his son in the vehicle since November 2024, and he is now charged and held in pretrial detention.
- The father's 37-year-old partner was placed under judicial supervision and charged for failing to report or assist a child in danger, and she denies knowing he was confined.
- Child protection services took provisional custody of the boy and two girls from the household, and investigators described degrading conditions that included no showers since 2024, waste stored in containers, and food delivered about twice daily.
- Prosecutor Nicolas Heitz said no medical record supports claims the child needed psychiatric care, and investigators are examining how the school archived his file and whether others overlooked clear warning signs.