“Let’s go to Italy” but they disappear: a child segregated at home from birth, never seen the outside world

Mom had told everyone they were moving to Italy, so no one asked her anymore one year old daughter that in reality she never moved from that house and was practically segregated in the house where she stayed locked up for her first 8 years of life.

The incredible story arrives from Germany and more precisely from the town of Attendorn, in Sauerland, where the German authorities finally discovered the absurd truth and allowed the child to see the outside world for the first time at age 8.

According to the authorities and the local police, the child would have been locked up at just one year old and he would live at his grandparents’ house in Attendorn for nearly seven years without being able to leave at all. In all this time no one cared about the little one he did not attend kindergartens or schools and none of the neighbors would ever see the baby in the house.

Siegen’s prosecutor, who is now investigating the child’s mother and grandparents, believes the child was completely isolated from the outside world for nearly seven years without any contact with other adults or other children. In the past, someone appears to have reported the presence of minors in the house two years ago, as confirmed by local authorities, but the police had no clear evidence of crimes and therefore could not enter the house.

“We investigated immediately, but there was no solid or concrete evidence that the girl was there. Therefore, there was no legal possibility of entering Attendorn’s home,” said the head of the family and minors department.

According to reports, the mother had unenrolled Attendorn residents in the summer of 2015 and he had given an address in Italy as his new place of residence for her and her daughter. Apparently, the mother wanted to prevent the daughter from having contact with the father, from whom she was separated, but investigations are still ongoing on this aspect.

Since then, no one has taken care of the child in Germany. The turning point just last June when a couple contacted the child’s office and said they saw the child in the house with their own eyes. At this point, investigations also began with Italian authorities who confirmed that the two had never been to Italy.

During a house search on 23 finally last september the girl was found right at her grandparents’ house who would cover for their daughter for years, telling the Children’s Office staff that their daughter and granddaughter had moved to Italy.

The child is now temporarily in an orphanage and according to the authorities it would be “in good condition”. There is currently no evidence of physical abuse or malnutrition, he can read and count, but would have other unusual problems such as climbing stairs. The impact with the outside world, despite the trauma of the last few weeks, would have been positive, the child would have been “surprised” and “happy” but ahead of him there is a long way of psychological rehabilitation.