A nine-year-old boy miraculously survived after his cruel mother moved minutes away, taking everything but him, and raised himself in the apartment he was left.
After being abandoned for two years, the boy dressed himself for school, keeping teachers and neighbors unaware of his torment.
A French boy, whose name will not be revealed, was found living in squalor alone in a housing development in Nersac, southwestern France, for two years.
Charente Libre reported that the child raised himself from nine to 11 between 2020 and 2022 without adults noticing.
Nothing was noticed. Nor the boy’s good school. Nor the neighbors, who sometimes fed the preteen, writes the outlet.
Reports say the child was resourceful. He lived on cake, biscuits, and canned goods, sometimes picking tomatoes from a neighbor’s balcony.
He lived without heat or electricity because no one paid the bills. Despite the inconveniences, he slept under multiple duvet covers and took ice-cold baths to stay clean.
Mayor Barbara Couturier of Nersac said the child went to school healthy and clean, giving teachers no indication of a problem at home.
Couturier told another local publication, “I challenge anyone who would’ve able to detect this situation: a clean boy, a good student who was doing his homework.” She says, “I think it was also a kind of protective shield that he built around himself to say, ‘everything is fine.’”
Alexandra, 39, the child’s mother, lived with her girlfriend in another apartment just a few miles away, according to reports.
After her son’s father left, the mother left the apartment with everything but the child.
According to CNN affiliate BFMTV, Alexandra, who had full custody of the boy, would visit him “time to time.”
Couturier said she called police after feeling uncomfortable with the shady mother.
“I met his mom in May 2022. When she told us she had financial problems, we gave her four food vouchers, but she took processed food, which made me suspicious” the mayor said. “Some residents told me there was a child living alone, so I called the local and national police.”
On January 23, after Alexandra’s sentencing, neighbors told BFMTV the mother consistently threatened her child. The anonymous neighbor called it “unspeakable verbal violence” to hear her swear at the children.
“We wonder why these people have children,” replied the neighbor.
Another resident of his mother’s building, where his mother lives with her partner, told Closer Magazine that she threatened. She said they stood in front of their house, arms crossed, staring at me because they scrutinized us. “My God, Help, I want to move,” I said in fear and depression.
Alexandera testified that she did not sleep with her son or take him to school.
While the mother denied all charges, an empty fridge and no adult belongings in the apartment proved she was guilty.
On January 16, she was sentenced to 18 months in prison, six of which will be house arrest with an electronic surveillance bracelet.
Nearly 13, the boy was placed in foster care and refuses contact with his abusive mother.
It’s unclear if someone paid the rent since the mother didn’t pay the bills.
We are glad the boy is okay and hope he can overcome the trauma caused by the woman who ruined two years of his life.
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