Status: 07.11.2022 11:36 a.m
After the liberation of an eight-year-old in Attendorn, who was hidden by her mother in her own house for almost her whole life, many questions are still unanswered. What we know and what we don’t.
An eight-year-old girl is said to have been held in a house in Sauerland for almost her entire life. The public prosecutor’s office in Siegen is investigating the child’s mother and grandparents. The child is said to have been completely shielded from the outside world for almost seven years: it never went to kindergarten or school. It is also said that it never played with other children during this time.
What did this completely unnatural situation do to the child? What could have motivated the mother to do this? And are there omissions on the part of the authorities? What we know and what we don’t.
How is the child?
“The girl is in a foster family and is in good hands there,” said the head of the youth, health and social affairs department district of Olpe, Michael Färber, the WDR on Sunday. The treating doctors have not noticed any physical abnormalities either. Overall, the child is doing well “according to the circumstances,” said senior prosecutor Patrick Baron von Grotthus.
The child was obviously able to acquire a certain education without going to school, it said. “The girl can read and do arithmetic,” said Farber. There are still deficits in some everyday skills. For example, I still have problems climbing stairs. “We’ll have to see how that develops.”
The sudden confrontation with the outside world primarily caused the girl’s surprise, it said. “She was happy to see something different.” The child naturally developed a very close bond with his mother. It remains to be seen how she will react to the separation.
Juliet of Weiler
Image: picture-alliance/SZ-Foto/Jürgen Heinrich
“Children need social contacts,” says psychologist Julia von Weiler. Nevertheless, the long time in isolation does not necessarily have to leave permanent damage. “Of course you can catch up a lot now.”
What were the mother’s motives?
That is still completely unclear. Both the mother and the grandparents, who also lived in the house, are silent on the allegations. However, there are indications that a custody dispute with the girl’s estranged father may have played a role.
In 2015, the mother had tried to sue the court for sole custody of the girl. “The mother did not want to allow the father to have contact,” said Farber to the WDR. In February 2016, however, the responsible family court decided that both parents would retain their custody.
The mother then stated to the authorities and the child’s father that she was moving with her daughter to relatives in Italy. But apparently that never happened.
What role do grandparents play?
The grandparents have covered their daughter from the authorities for years. During several home visits by youth welfare workers, the grandmother in particular “plausibly” stated that the mother and daughter lived in Italy. She always refused entry to the house.
How could the authorities have been fooled for so long?
This is a question that has yet to be resolved. On Sunday, the district of Olpe announced that all “procedural processes in-house” in connection with the case, including the work of the youth welfare office, were being examined. It is clear that there were several anonymous indications that the child and mother still live in Attendorn – and not in Italy.
As a result, the youth welfare office made home visits to the grandparents’ address. Apparently, the employees had found nothing suspicious. The youth welfare office also researched with health insurance companies whether the mother was still insured there – without any result. Asking daycare centers and schools did not help either.
The father is also said to have been written to several times on this issue. According to Färber, however, there was never a reaction. A house search was only possible thanks to new witness statements, during which the eight-year-old, her mother and her parents were found.
What prompted the discovery of the child?
Apparently, a couple had contacted the youth welfare office who had found out about the child’s existence from family acquaintances. The Office then made a formal request to the authorities in Italy. They replied that neither the mother nor the child were known in Italy. As a result, the search warrant was issued at the end of September, but only now has the case become public.
The WDR reports on this topic in the radio news and in the current hour on November 6th, 2022.
Source: wdr.de