French Man Charged with Locking Nine-Year-Old Son in Van Since 2024

Apr 12, 2026

French authorities rescued a malnourished nine-year-old boy who had been locked naked in his father's van in Hagenbach, Alsace since November 2024 after neighbours heard sounds coming from the vehicle. The child was found lying under a blanket near human excrement, unable to walk, and told police he had not showered since late 2024 and had to urinate in bottles while his 43-year-old father brought him food twice daily. The father claimed he was protecting his son from his 37-year-old partner who wanted psychiatric care for the boy, while neighbours had been told the child was in state care. The father has been charged with sequestration, arbitrary detention, and depriving his son of food and medical care, while his partner faces charges of non-assistance to a minor, and all three children have been placed in temporary care.

Discovery and condition of the child

▪The nine-year-old boy told police that the last time he had a shower was at the end of 2024.
▪A nine-year-old boy was found locked in a van in Hagenbach, Alsace, France on Monday.
▪Neighbours in Hagenbach, Alsace heard sounds of a child coming from a van parked in the common area of a block of flats.
▪The nine-year-old boy found in the van in Hagenbach was lying naked under a blanket on a pile of rubbish near human excrement.

Father's explanation and living arrangements

▪Neighbours in Hagenbach understood from the couple that the nine-year-old boy had been placed in care after he seemed to disappear suddenly at the end of 2024.
▪The 43-year-old father said he kept his son in the van to protect the boy from his 37-year-old partner who wanted to put the child in psychiatric care.
▪The 43-year-old father kept his nine-year-old son in a van since November 2024.
▪The 43-year-old father said his 37-year-old partner did not know the nine-year-old boy was in the van.
▪The 43-year-old father and his 37-year-old partner lived in the block of flats in Hagenbach with the boy's 12-year-old sister and 10-year-old half-sister.

Criminal charges and legal proceedings

▪The 37-year-old partner of the father in Hagenbach has been granted conditional bail.
▪The 43-year-old father in Hagenbach has been remanded in custody.
▪The 37-year-old partner of the father in Hagenbach has been charged with non-assistance to a minor in danger.
▪The 43-year-old father in Hagenbach has been charged with sequestration and arbitrary detention of a minor.
▪The 43-year-old father in Hagenbach has been charged with depriving his son of proper food and medical care.

Perspective of The 43-year-old father

▪The 43-year-old father in Hagenbach claimed his 37-year-old partner was unaware the nine-year-old boy was locked in the van.
▪The 43-year-old father in Hagenbach claimed his 37-year-old partner wanted to institutionalize the nine-year-old boy in psychiatric care.
▪The 43-year-old father in Hagenbach claimed he was protecting his nine-year-old son by keeping him in the van.

Perspective of French authorities

▪French authorities charged the 43-year-old father in Hagenbach with sequestration and arbitrary detention of a minor for keeping his son in a van.
▪French authorities charged the 37-year-old partner in Hagenbach with non-assistance to a minor in danger and non-denunciation of mistreatment.