Vlaardingen girl needs intensive care for rest of her life after foster parents' abuse

The 10-year-old girl allegedly severely abused by her foster parents in Vlaardingen will be dependent on intensive care for the rest of her life, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) said in the first preliminary hearing against her foster parents in the court of Rotterdam.

The OM suspects foster parents John van den B. and Daisy W., both 37 and from Vlaardingen, of attempted manslaughter, serious abuse, unlawful deprivation of liberty, and placing or leaving someone in a helpless state. They weren’t present for the hearing.

The 10-year-old girl was taken to the hospital during the early hours of May 21. According to the OM, she was in a coma, had multiple broken bones, and was severely malnourished, weighing only 20 kilograms. She was transferred to a rehabilitation clinic in June, where she regained consciousness on July 23. "But that sounds more positive than it is," the prosecutor said in the hearing, according to ANP. The child can't sit, walk, or stand on her own. She also can't talk.

According to the prosecutor, the suspects kept the child in a kind of cage, which looked like it had electric wires attached to it. They also abused her so badly that she sustained serious and permanent injuries, including by throwing her down the stairs, and neglected her by not allowing her to receive medical care, the prosecutor said, according to NOS. The girl was dirty with a head full of lice when the hospital admitted her in May. She hardly had anything to eat or drink.

While searching the suspects' house, the authorities found tie wraps and a shock collar. They're investigating whether the girl's injuries correspond with these items.

Shortly after her hospitalization, it became apparent that the girl asked for help multiple times, including by approaching strangers at the supermarket and people at her school. But each time, the agencies involved with the family dismissed her story.

The OM also revealed that the authorities were investigating whether the suspects also abused the other two children in their care.

The child had been living with these foster parents since 21 March 2022. In December, during a court case about the girl’s mother’s parental authority, William Schrikker Youth Protection raised concerns about the foster parents’ suitability and asked to move her to another family. However, partly based on the advice from the Child Protection Council describing the foster parents as "loving and caring," it was decided to keep the girl in their care.

The Healthcare and Youth Inspectorate, the Justice and Security Inspectorate, and the Education Inspectorate are currently investigating what went wrong with the aid provided to the girl.

The details revealed in the hearing came as a double shock to the girl's biological mother, her lawyer told RTL Nieuws. According to the lawyer, the mother reported the possible abuse to Child Protection multiple times, but the service always believed the foster parents' statements that the girl had injured herself.

The two suspects are awaiting psychiatric evaluation by the Pieter Baan Center. Due to waiting lists, they'll only start their six-week evaluation in February. The report will only be available in May or June next year.

The next hearing in this case is scheduled for November 25.