Adoptive parents sentenced to 8 years in prison after brutal abuse left the child with brain damage
A Dutch court in Rotterdam sentenced adoptive parents Johnny van den B. and Desi W. to eight years in prison for the severe abuse of their 10-year-old adopted daughter, who was hospitalized in a coma last May.
The abuse was discovered when the girl was transferred from Vlaardingen to the hospital on May 21, 2024, in critical condition, having suffered severe brain injuries, five broken ribs, and five broken vertebrae, with scars all over her body. She is now functioning at the level of a small child.
The public prosecutor's office (OM) stated that the adoptive parents abused the child physically and psychologically, as they tied her to a bunk bed, locked her in a cage with electrical wire, and starved her. Upon her admission to the hospital, she weighed only 19.5 kilograms.
Investigators suspected that the parents pushed the child down the stairs, leading to her coma, but insufficient evidence was gathered to prove attempted murder, and thus the court convicted the parents of aggravated abuse and deprivation of the child's liberty.
During the trial, Van den B. admitted to restraining the child but said it was for her safety and denied most of the charges against them. Authorities are also investigating whether the couple abused three other adopted children, including the younger sister of the child and two Syrian boys, and the court will consider their cases later.