The 41-year-old man who was deprived of his liberty on Tuesday was released, but charged with kidnapping a minor.
The homeless man suspected of having kidnapped little Maya who disappeared in Charleroi on Sunday was released yesterday. He was charged with kidnapping a minor, according to Sudinfo. The 41-year-old man was deprived of his liberty after being found in an abandoned house with the 9-year-old girl, who was hard of hearing and visually impaired.
According to information collected by our colleagues, the man, of Algerian origin, was squatting in this house. To the investigating judge, he explained that he had met the little girl, while he had been drinking, and that he had thought that she was an adult and on the street. So that she does not spend the night outside in the cold, the homeless man allegedly offered to accompany Maya to her squat.
He is ultimately not the subject of charges for moral offenses, our colleagues specify.
His disappearance was reported Sunday evening. Monday morning, we learned that the little girl had been found in an abandoned house in the company of a 41-year-old man. On Tuesday, the Charleroi Public Prosecutor’s Office informed us that an investigating judge had been seized of the charge of kidnapping a minor under the age of 12 and assault on sexual integrity. The Prosecutor’s Office then specified that no definitive conclusion could be drawn at this stage concerning the exact course of the events and as to the possible guilt of the suspect in relation to the charges retained.
He was therefore released without being charged. The courts should provide more details during the day on the reasons which led to this release.
“In shock”
In the neighborhood, where we know the little girl well, incomprehension reigns. “There are a lot of people who are in shock because it’s already happening in a neighborhood where there had never been a problem. A little 9-year-old girl, no, that’s not possible”says a resident of the neighborhood. “It hurts me a lot, it really affects me”said another.
According to some neighbors, this was not the first time that the little girl had run away. She is often outside and sometimes even takes the bus alone when she runs away.
maya charleroi disappearance montignies-sur-sambre
