Shocking case in Gorj. A child was allegedly sold in Germany for 8,000 lei. DIICOT has opened a file

A minor who was part of a family with two more brothers was allegedly sold in Germany for 8,000 lei. The authorities are conducting an investigation after a 6-year-old child, from a commune in Gorj County, was taken out of Romania and taken to Germany using false documents, according to sources cited by Agerpres. The Minister of the Family, Natalia Intotero, says that there is a file at DIICOT, after a notification sent by the Romanian authorities, who in turn received a request for information from the institutions in Germany.

Natalia Intotero, Minister of the Family: “This information is not certain. Given that there is a file instrumented by DIICOT, upon referral to DGASPC Gorj, which received a notification from the National Authority for Child Protection, which in turn received a request from the German authorities to provide more data about a situation of the child of Romanian citizenship and his family in Romania. There is much speculation. We are waiting for the resolution of that file.

Until then, I would like to inform you that yesterday morning I went to Gorj county with the director of DGASPC, accompanied by psychologists, to meet the two minor brothers of the child who are now in Germany. I wanted to make sure that they are well taken care of by the Romanian state authorities, that they benefit and will continue to benefit from psychological counseling. I got in touch with the president of the National Authority for Child Protection and requested an emergency trip to Germany to hold talks with the German authorities with a view to repatriating the minor. I had a discussion with Mrs. Minister Odobescu in this regard, so that all steps for travel are expedited and during Monday the president of the Child Protection Authority will be in Germany.

I found out about this case when I was called by journalists but also from the discussions held with the representatives of the Child Protection Authority and I managed to travel urgently to see his brothers who had been taken into the care of the state for a day, having considering that they were left in the care of a relative, I don’t know if with or without documents, but they were not in a favorable condition for their good upbringing and education. They are fine, I met them yesterday, I talked with them, I talked with those who take care of them. I stayed for quite a long time. The children are young, they receive psychological counseling and I made sure that they will be fine in the future.

The minor must arrive in Romania, at home, because he is a Romanian citizen. We will see until the resolution of the case instrumented by DIICOT, depending on what the competent institutions recommend, if it remains in the care of the state, and that is probably what will happen, until the resolution of that file.

The DGASPCs, from the point of view of management, are subordinate to the county councils. We are on methodological coordination, but nevertheless we monitor their activity every month, we travel to the territory very often and without announcing and carry out certain controls to make sure that they have good activity and that there are no such cases. Unfortunately, they appear.

I am appealing to the citizens. We have the child’s emergency number – 119. If you report certain delicate situations that minors in our country are going through, please call this phone number, because the state institutions immediately intervene, check the children’s health status and intervene when they are not well taken care of and I take them under the protection of the Romanian state”.

The representatives of the General Directorate of Social Assistance and Child Protection (DGASPC) Gorj stated that they informed DIICOT about this case.

“The situation of the minor came to the attention of DGASPC Gorj as a result of the address submitted by the National Authority for the Protection of Children’s Rights and Adoption, in April 2024. The procedure was immediately started according to the legislation in force, the institutions empowered to verify the reported issues and intervene according to their competences were notified legal (DIICOT).

The representatives of DGASPC Gorj went to the family home together with the representatives of the local authority to evaluate the socio-family situation. It was found, following the intervention and the discussions held with the legal representatives, that the minor in question is not at home”, declared, on Friday, the spokesperson of DGASPC Gorj, Minodora Sucea.

According to the cited source, it was found that there are still two minors at home, who were taken over shortly by the representatives of DGASPC Gorj together with the Police representatives, and a special protection measure was instituted for them – emergency placement with professional foster carers.

“A psychologist and social workers from the DGASPC Gorj, together with the general director, Laurenţiu Diaconescu, and the minister Natalia Intotero, visited the minor’s two brothers at the home of the foster carers, having discussions with them. The two minors follow a psychological counseling program, as well as other medical investigations depending on the identified needs. We make it clear that, after clarifying the legal situation of the minor in Germany, we will intervene in taking him over and establishing a special protection measure”, said Minodora Sucea.

Publisher: AC