Spanish police rescue children after years of parental confinement
Since the coronavirus pandemic, children have not been allowed to leave their homes and have always been required to wear masks. "Deutsche Welle" reports on a shocking discovery in a Spanish town. The truth emerged due to a significant power outage.
What do you need to know?
- In the Spanish city of Oviedo, police rescued three children who their parents had confined since December 2021. The children had not left the house, and their plight was uncovered due to a widespread power outage.
- The children's parents, a German-American couple, were arrested. The prosecution in Asturias has requested their temporary detention due to the risk of flight and the need to protect the children.
- Investigators accuse them of, among other things, psychological abuse of the children. The investigation into this matter is ongoing.
On Monday, 28 April, during a significant power outage in Spain, police rescued three children in the northern Spanish town of Oviedo. The offspring of a German couple had been confined in the house since the pandemic began.
According to a police spokeswoman, the parents were arrested, and the children were placed in a children's home.
A scenario like a horror movie: The children were imprisoned by their parents
The newspaper "La Nueva España" quoted a police officer describing the completely cluttered house on the outskirts of the city as "something out of a horror film." A neighbour had earlier noticed that children were living there who never attended school. Consequently, she informed the police patrolling the area after the massive outage.
Initially, the authorities did not disclose why the parents had cut their children off from the outside world. It was only after the couple was taken into custody that these details were made public.
Isolation since the pandemic
The children – eight-year-old twins and a ten-year-old boy – had not left the house since December 2021. They were not even permitted into the garden, according to local newspapers. They had to sleep in cots, were forced by their parents to wear nappies and masks, and did not attend school. When the police entered the house, the parents insisted that they wear masks too.
"They weren't aware of what was happening. They had no contact with reality. One of the children was touching grass with his hands in amazement. As soon as we let them out of the house, all three began to breathe deeply, as if they had never been outside," said one of the police officers involved in the operation.
According to media reports, the children's father is German, and the mother is of American origin, although she also holds German citizenship.
Cruel parents arrested
The prosecution in Asturias has applied to the Court of First Instance No. 3 in Oviedo, acting as the duty court, for the temporary arrest of the couple: a 53-year-old man and a 48-year-old woman. The prosecution emphasised the necessity of this preventive measure due to the risk of flight and the need to protect the children.
The investigation is ongoing, but investigators have already indicated they have evidence suggesting the commission of crimes such as unlawful detention and severe psychological abuse.
