The child's mother and stepfather were charged with kidnapping, deprivation of food, assault and inhumane and degrading treatment and an arrest warrant was issued.
A 9 year old child has been discovered This Wednesday, January 3, he lived in a house in the Belgian city of Charleroi in a narrow room plunged into darkness, reveals Sudinfo. The legal authorities discovered the child based on a tip. There he lived in miserable conditions.
“It happened to be him in a small room whose available space was very limited two square meters the surface. There was locked in the dark for weeks, even months. The latter was only allowed to go out to eat some toast. He showed no signs of malnutrition or physical injuries related to the beating. More comprehensive examinations will take place to assess in detail his state of health,” commented the Charleroi Public Prosecutor’s Office this Saturday, December 6th.
A family has recently settled and is hardly known in the neighborhood
According to the initial findings of the investigation, the child had been exposed to this regime for months. The family had recently settled in the Marcinelle district. She was little known in the neighborhood. Nobody suspected the situation. “The police rang the bell downstairs so we went to open the door. They told us they were going to the first floor and I think it was the boy who opened the door downstairs. It was strange. “To hear that, especially under our house. It’s worrying, I didn’t expect it at all,” said a neighbor in an interview with RTL Info. “It's a quiet street. We've never had anything on this street, no problem. It's sad for a child that we don't move, that we don't say anything,” says another neighbor.
Charges were filed against the child's mother and stepfather and an arrest warrant was issued against him for kidnapping, deprivation of food, assault and inhuman and degrading treatment. The suspects will appear in the coming days before the Charleroi council chamber, which will decide whether or not they remain in preventive detention.