Kidnapped girl home after Amazon ordeal
The nine-year-old girl who was held captive for seven months in the depths of the Amazon rainforest has been taken back to her home town in Catalonia, but not yet to her parents.
The child — a Moroccan national who moved to the Catalan city of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat with her mother and father in 2008 — was freed from her captor on March 8th.
Since then, she has been kept in a children’s shelter in Cochabamba, central Bolivia, while she underwent medical and psychological tests to determine the consequences of her ordeal.
Spanish and Bolivian authorities also wanted the young girl to testify to what had happened to her before leaving the Latin American country, Catalan daily El Periódico reported.
For seven months, her kidnapper forced her to work long hours in cocoa plantations, walk for days through dense rainforest and sleep on the ground in remote Amazon villages.
Grover Morales, the 35-year-old who had permission from her parents to take her to Bolivia on what was meant to be a short holiday, has a history of unresolved rape charges against him involving two sisters.
Civil Guard Police told Spain’s press on Monday they are yet to decide whether she should be handed over to her parents or to the city’s social services.
After his arrest, Morales told Bolivian TV he had struck a deal with the girl’s father by which she would be used as a ‘mule’ to take back a large amount of gold and jewellery purchased in Bolivia.
Police inspector Jordi Domènech, who headed the missing person investigation from Spain's Catalonia region, has provided proof that the girl’s parents had indeed legally allowed her to travel with Morales.
The court in L’Hospitalet handling the case is working with Bolivian authorities to decide whether Morales should be extradited to Spain for the hearing.
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The child — a Moroccan national who moved to the Catalan city of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat with her mother and father in 2008 — was freed from her captor on March 8th.
Since then, she has been kept in a children’s shelter in Cochabamba, central Bolivia, while she underwent medical and psychological tests to determine the consequences of her ordeal.
Spanish and Bolivian authorities also wanted the young girl to testify to what had happened to her before leaving the Latin American country, Catalan daily El Periódico reported.
For seven months, her kidnapper forced her to work long hours in cocoa plantations, walk for days through dense rainforest and sleep on the ground in remote Amazon villages.
Grover Morales, the 35-year-old who had permission from her parents to take her to Bolivia on what was meant to be a short holiday, has a history of unresolved rape charges against him involving two sisters.
Civil Guard Police told Spain’s press on Monday they are yet to decide whether she should be handed over to her parents or to the city’s social services.
After his arrest, Morales told Bolivian TV he had struck a deal with the girl’s father by which she would be used as a ‘mule’ to take back a large amount of gold and jewellery purchased in Bolivia.
Police inspector Jordi Domènech, who headed the missing person investigation from Spain's Catalonia region, has provided proof that the girl’s parents had indeed legally allowed her to travel with Morales.
The court in L’Hospitalet handling the case is working with Bolivian authorities to decide whether Morales should be extradited to Spain for the hearing.
Don't miss stories about Spain, join us on Facebook and Twitter.
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