6-year-old girl in induced coma after abuse by mother, girlfriend; Boy, 7, also abused
Two mothers in a romantic relationship are under criminal investigation for the systematic abuse of their children—the 6-year-old daughter of one woman and the 7-year-old son of the other, DVHN reports. The 6-year-old girl was so badly mistreated that she was hospitalized twice. In early February, she was placed in an induced coma and put on a ventilator.
According to court records from a children’s court judge at the Noord-Nederland District Court, the abuses included repeated beatings, kickings, prolonged lockups in a basement punishment room, and forcing the girl to eat her own vomit. Many of the acts were filmed. The judge described the case as involving “very serious, organized child abuse” and “dehumanizing feeding and punishment practices.”
The 6-year-old was beaten and kicked, struck with a broom handle, and deprived of food as punishment. She was locked in the basement for long periods, with her hands bound by cable ties to pipes at a height that prevented her from sitting. She was also subjected to extended cold showers—sometimes clothed, sometimes naked—so long that her mother told the court she feared at times that her “child would die.”
Both women have had their parental authority suspended. The children were placed under the temporary guardianship of two certified agencies: Jeugdbescherming Noord and the William Schrikker Stichting Jeugdbescherming.
Before a school Christmas dinner, the severely malnourished girl was forced to eat multiple bowls of Brinta cereal. When she vomited, she was made to eat the vomit off the floor and then attend the dinner without changing clothes. The abuse led to extreme weight loss, dehydration, skin problems, a bladder infection, and serious dental damage.
School staff first raised concerns in March last year after noticing facial injuries, extreme fatigue, and signs of hunger. In November, she arrived at school with a head wound from being hit with a broom handle. In early February, after repeated vomiting at school, she lost consciousness and was rushed to intensive care.
The 7-year-old boy, son of the second woman, was also beaten and locked in the basement, especially when he talked back. He witnessed much of the abuse against the girl.
The girl’s mother admitted to the children’s court that she had abused her daughter but said she acted under duress from her girlfriend. She claimed the girlfriend exerted extreme control over her life, including access to her email, bank accounts, and phone tracking software. The girlfriend transferred significant sums of money to herself and others, the court records state.
The mother also said that when she refused the girlfriend's order to cut off parts of her daughter’s ears, she was then forced to set her own hair on fire as punishment.
The Council for Child Protection requested the immediate removal of the 7-year-old boy from his mother’s care. Jeugdbescherming Noord was granted provisional guardianship of the boy.
The case echoes the 2023 abuse of an 11-year-old foster girl in Vlaardingen, who suffered brain injuries and was also in a coma after being abused and locked in a cage by her foster parents. Those foster parents were sentenced to eight years in prison in November 2025.
The Public Prosecution Service confirmed the investigation but declined to provide further details. A spokesperson said, "The police and OM are working on it, and we will leave it at that for now."
