A 9-year-old boy lived alone in an unheated flat for two years. His mother abandoned him to live with her boyfriend.
In a heartbreaking story, a young boy had to fend for himself for two years in an unheated flat after his mother left him to live with her boyfriend in France.
Last week, the court sentenced the boy’s 39-year-old mother to six months in prison for abandoning and endangering a minor.
9-year-old boy has lived alone in an unheated flat for 2 years
The boy, whose identity has not been revealed, lived alone in the flat in Nersac, a village near Angoulême in southwestern France, from 2020 to 2022.
During this time, the young child faced unimaginable difficulties.
With no parents to care for him, he had to fend for himself in the flat, which sometimes lacked basic necessities like hot water, heating, and electricity.
To stay warm, the boy would wrap himself in sleeping bags and blankets.
Forced to find his own food, he resorted to stealing tomatoes from a nearby balcony and scavenging from neighbors.
The boy keeps good grades despite living alone since the age of 7
Surprisingly, despite his unlucky circumstances, the boy continued to attend school regularly and maintain good grades.
His teacher and classmates were unaware of the true nature of his living situation.
One classmate recounted: “He told his mates that he ate his meals alone and took the bus alone. He didn’t go out and stayed home all the time.”
Authorities respond to boy’s situation and took action
The town’s mayor, Barbara Couturier, expressed her shock at the boy’s ordeal.
In a statement, she said: “I think it was also a kind of protection that he put around himself to say ‘everything is fine.'”
She added that the boy was able to take care of himself and appeared well-kept.
This made it difficult for anyone to detect the neglect he faced.
Neighbors expressed their concerns to the boy’s mother, but she dismissed them.
She claimed she was caring for her son and told them to stay out of her business.
However, police later obtained mobile data that disproved the mother’s claims, revealing she had hardly been present at the flat during the two years.
The authorities did not charge the boy’s father, who lived in a different town.
They have now taken the child into care and are working to ensure he receives support and stability.
Social media reaction
On social media, online users expressed their opinions about the boy’s unlucky circumstances
Many people felt sad and angry that a child had to live alone for so long.
They called for more support for children in similar situations and urged authorities to take stronger action against neglectful parents.
Some users shared their own experiences, saying they wished they could help the boy.
That’s gonna be one tough kid. Harshest conditions create the greatest warriors, one user said.
Not approving, but abandoned children are more resilient than we give them credit for, the second user commented.
The kid already had the mindset of an adult. Kudos to him. Kids nowadays even with parental supervision will still turn out bad, the third user praised the young boy, someone said.
I also went through the same from 11 years till date, another wrote.