The more the hours pass, the more the fear of a dramatic outcome emerges. Three days after his kidnapping from the neonatology department of Aulnay-sous-Bois, in Seine-Saint-Denis, Santiago, a very premature baby, remains nowhere to be found. On Wednesday morning, investigators discovered in Belgium the car of his parents – the main suspects in this case – but no trace of the child whose life is in danger.
As soon as the hospital teams reported the kidnapping, the Bobigny public prosecutor’s office opened an investigation for “organized gang kidnapping of a 15-year-old minor”. Five people, suspected of having helped Cristina N. and Kevin D., aged 25 and 23, are still in police custody.
Kidnapping ?
The question could arise about the qualification of “kidnapping”. On Tuesday, the prosecutor issued a temporary placement order (OPP) for Santiago but it was not in force at the time of the events. According to BFM, his placement was considered but not acted upon at the time of the events.
Another question, that of deprivation of care, is also taken into account: Santiago being very premature, his condition requires constant care. The deprivation of care or feeding of a minor aged 15 “by an ascendant or persons in authority” causes the parents to face seven years in prison. If the child dies, the sentence increases to 30 years in prison. The accomplices, for their part, would still risk life imprisonment for “organized gang kidnapping of a minor under 15 years of age”.
