Severely malnourished, a bruise and a fracture. For almost a year, the four-year-old girl was suspected of having been subjected to starvation – and also violence on at least one occasion. Now the child’s foster parents are acquitted of extremely serious abuse. The academic hospital in Uppsala raised the alarm to the police in the summer of 2021. The girl, who was placed in a family home with a couple, had been taken to the emergency department. The child was diagnosed with refeeding syndrome, which is a complication of starvation. According to the medical service, the condition was life-threatening. The prosecutor charged the couple on suspicion of starving the girl since August 2020. Today, the Uppsala District Court announced its verdict against the foster parents, who had so-called guarantor responsibility for the four-year-old. Both were acquitted of extremely serious assault. – For the district court, it is clear that the child was not well when the diagnosis was made. However, the burden of proof lies with the prosecutor. The mentioned circumstances mean that it is beyond reasonable doubt that the child has been in a state of starvation or severe malnutrition, says Maria Hallqvist, chief councillor, in a press release. The District Court: Received nutrition in preschool According to the prosecutor’s lawsuit, the family home parents, as well as the guardians, would have “restricted the plaintiff’s access to food and/or nutrition so that she did not get a sufficient amount and/or food with a sufficiently varied nutritional content.” The district court states that there are circumstances which suggest that the girl had refeeding syndrome and was severely malnourished. But according to the court, there is also information indicating that this was not the case, including that she recovered after receiving a controlled nutritional intake from the healthcare system. Also that some markers in the blood were normal, which they usually are not in refeeding syndrome. It is also judged that the investigation shows that the child got his daily need for nutritious food in the preschool. The father was also charged with aggravated assault on suspicion of having hit the girl on the hand so that, among other things, a fracture occurred. That charge is also dismissed. Both guardians have always denied wrongdoing. The girl is currently placed in another home and is reported to be doing well.
t4-general
4-year-old girl found severely malnourished – family home couple freed
