North Rhine-Westphalia
Girl isolated for years – no charges in sight
View of the house in Attendorn, Sauerland, where a nine-year-old girl is said to have been held almost her entire life. photo
© Markus Klümper/dpa
Could a girl who had been imprisoned for years in Attendorn, Sauerland, have been freed earlier? The investigations are ongoing – and the details that have already been released raise further questions.
In the case of the girl in North Rhine-Westphalia, who had been isolated from the outside world for years In Attendorn, charges are not in sight. “We are not allowed to hear the girl and the accused are silent,” said spokesman Patrick Baron von Grotthuss from the responsible public prosecutor’s office in Siegen on request. “That makes things relatively difficult.”
The case had caused outrage across the country. The child is said not to have left his grandparents’ house until he was eight years old. The mother had claimed to have emigrated to Italy in 2015.
As long as the investigation against the child’s mother and grandparents continues, no fines will be imposed for any administrative offenses such as violating compulsory school attendance or missing medical check-ups, explained von Grotthuss.
There is no statute of limitations
The girl was freed from the house eleven months ago and the case became known nine months ago. However, there is no risk of a statute of limitations. The girl can still decide to testify after she has reached the age of majority and restart the process if it has not been completed by then.
Climbing the stairs was difficult for the then eight-year-old child. His physical impairments have since improved. The “Neue Rhein/Ruhr Zeitung” had previously reported on the status.
The investigators are not only not allowed to question the child, they are also not allowed to have it examined by a medical expert. For both, the consent of the supplementary nurse is missing, said the spokesman for the authorities. The supplementary guardian, a lawyer, is to protect the well-being of the child.