Locked in room without food: five-year-old rescued from neglected apartment

Neighbors called the police because a five-year-old boy was climbing on the roof of a four-story house.

Locked in room without food: five-year-old rescued from neglected apartment

Neighbors called the police because a five-year-old boy was climbing on the roof of a four-story house. When officers arrive at the house, they find the boy locked in a room with only a mattress and a bucket to defecate.

A five-year-old boy was taken from neglected living conditions and taken into care by the police and youth welfare office in Hagen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Neighbors saw the child on Sunday morning climbing on the roof and in the gutter of a four-story house, police said. When police arrived, the boy had already gotten back into his room through the window. Apparently he lived locked in the children's room, which contained only a mattress and a bucket for his necessities. The child was outwardly unharmed and did not appear ill, the spokesman said.

When the officers arrived, the mother and stepfather opened the apartment door. They unlocked the children's bedroom door, where police stumbled upon the imprisoned five-year-old. "The overall circumstances, the conditions in the apartment and in the room, prompted the officials to call the youth welfare office."

An employee of the office also got an idea of ​​​​the situation and housed the child in a municipal facility. It is now being investigated against the 22-year-old mother for deprivation of liberty and violation of the duty of care.

According to media reports, the mother is said to have deregistered the boy from daycare. Neighbors reported that the five-year-old repeatedly asked for food. The police did not comment on this. There is said to have been a small drug plantation on the top floor of the house.