The suspect arrested for the disappearance of a nine-year-old in Charleroi has been charged with kidnapping of a minor, Charleroi Public Prosecutor's Office confirmed on Wednesday.
On Monday morning, the authorities reported they had found the nine-year-old girl who had been missing since Sunday. She had last been seen in the vicinity of her home on Rue de Sélestat in Charleroi.
The girl was found in good health at an abandoned house in Charleroi, accompanied by a 41-year-old man who was taken in for questioning. The suspect appeared before the examining magistrate on Tuesday.
The man was charged for the abduction of a minor but not for the violation of sexual integrity, the Prosecutor's Office reported.
"The charge is based on the suspect's inappropriate reaction in not notifying the authorities of the discovery of the child, which can be explained in particular by the difficult situation in which he finds himself and his altered state at the time of the encounter due to substance abuse," stated the judicial authority.
The authorities added that "at this stage, there are no elements, either objective or factual, that have enabled the investigating judge to charge the individual with an offence against sexual integrity."
The individual has not been placed under arrest and the investigation is ongoing, the Public Prosecutor concluded.
