Father Could Face 30 Years for Keeping Son Locked in Van for Over a Year

email:online@newsofbahrain.com

Paris: A father in France could face up to 30 years in prison after keeping his young son confined in a van for more than a year, according to prosecutor Nicolas Heitz.

Police discovered the boy, now nine, last week in the eastern village of Hagenbach after a neighbour reported hearing a child’s voice coming from a vehicle in a shared courtyard. When officers opened the van, they found the child lying in a foetal position, malnourished and unable to walk.

The 43-year-old father has been placed in custody and has admitted to the charges. He claimed he acted to protect his son from his new partner, who he said wanted the boy placed in a psychiatric institution.

The child has since been taken to hospital in the nearby city of Mulhouse.

According to investigators, the boy described having a very poor relationship with his stepmother, calling her “his worst enemy” and “mean.” He said his father felt he had no choice but to keep him in the van from September 2024, as the boy did not want to live with his mother, who has struggled with mental health issues.

The prosecutor said the father brought food and water twice a day, usually cold meals. The boy had only a bundle of clothes, slept on a mattress, and had to urinate into empty bottles. Over time, his father stopped washing his clothes, and he no longer had basic items such as pyjamas or a toothbrush. His toys were kept separately in his room.

The boy’s 12-year-old sister, who lived in the family home, believed he had been placed in a psychiatric hospital. She told investigators that his behaviour had changed after their father moved in with his new partner and her daughter, now 10, becoming more aggressive and frequently arguing with his stepmother.

The father’s parents described the boy as increasingly difficult, prone to tantrums, and struggling to cope after his parents separated in 2022.

The boy’s mother said she had been treated in a psychiatric hospital between 2022 and 2024. She was later granted supervised visitation rights but was unable to see her children.

The stepmother has also been charged and could face up to seven years in prison for failing to assist a child in danger. She has denied any wrongdoing.