Mother sentenced to jail for leaving 9-year-old child to live alone for 2 years

A woman was sentenced to 18 months in prison for leaving her 9-year-old son to live alone for two years. 

According to a report by CNN International, the child lived by himself in their apartment in the Nersac, Charente region in France from 2020 to 2022, while his mother lived with her partner in another place that was five kilometers away from him. She only visited her kid "from time to time."

The boy "appeared to survive on cake, canned goods, and stolen tomatoes" from neighbors, CNN reported.

Barbara Couturier, the mayor of Nersac, told the media that she learned about the boy’s situation when his mother asked social services for financial assistance to buy food. 

“I met his mom in May 2022. She came to tell us that she had financial problems, and we gave her four vouchers for food, but she took some processed food products instead so that got me suspicious,” Couturier said.

“Some residents told me that there was a child living alone, so I connected the two things and I called the local police and the national police,” she continued.

Couturier also found out that the boy lived without hot water or heating, but continued to go to school, where he also consistently did well as a student.

An investigation on the case is still ongoing. According to Couturier, the boy has been under the care of social services since Sept. 19, 2022.