Girl freed after family hides her for seven years

The mother and grandparents of an eight-year-old girl who was kept hidden for seven years are being investigated by German prosecutors on charges of unlawful imprisonment, and could face up to ten years in prison.

The girl, who is now in the care of child psychologists, was freed from her house in the German town of Attendorn at the end of September. It is believed that she had had no contact with another person, besides her mother and grandparents, and was never allowed outside during the time she was locked away.

Although prosecutors are still trying to determine the motive for keeping the girl locked up, it has been widely assumed in the German media that the mother was attempting to keep the child away from her father, from whom she had separated shortly before the child was born.

According to the BBC, the mother had forbidden the father from seeing his daughter, prompting him to turn to the courts. He was awarded joint custody in 2016. However, by then, both the German authorities and the father believed the mother to be living in Italy. She had notified the authorities of the move in 2015.

Instead of moving to Italy, however, mother and child went to live with the grandparents, who helped keep them hidden.

The BBC reports that authorities had received two tip-offs about the girl in recent years but found no clear evidence she was being kept at the property.

In June, however, a couple reported having seen the girl. Authorities subsequently established that she and her mother had never lived in Italy, which led to their eventual discovery.

Welfare officials say that although the child can read and do maths, she struggles with everyday activities like climbing stairs.

‘The world is now upside down for the child. It will feel like being on another planet,’ an expert from the national Child Protection Association told German media.

There is no evidence that the girl was physically abused or malnourished.

[Image: Thomas Depenbusch, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38846667]