A foster mother who ran a daycare center in Moorsel, East Flanders, and her husband were convicted on Tuesday by the Dendermonde Criminal Court for mistreating several children in their care.
The woman was sentenced to three years in prison, two of which were suspended, while her partner received a one-year suspended sentence.
It all began in March 2021, when a ten-month-old child was admitted to hospital in critical condition. He had been shaken so violently that he developed shaken baby syndrome and had to undergo two operations for severe brain damage. The child remained between life and death for a month. The police were called and suspicion quickly fell on the foster mother.
Until then, the woman claimed that nothing had happened, but during questioning, she eventually confessed. She admitted to shaking the child and then throwing him violently onto his changing mat on the table.
She had also abused other children in previous years, throwing them violently into their beds, making them stand in the corner with their hands on their heads, or putting them outside in the cold.
When parents asked questions about the injuries, she often claimed that other children had hit them while playing.
At least nine victims have been identified. Their parents joined the proceedings as civil parties during the trial, in which the defendant did not say much.
She claimed that she could not remember much of what had happened.
Her husband, who had also been summoned to appear in court for mistreating the children, denied all allegations.
The foster mother was sentenced to three years in prison, two of them suspended, while her partner received a one-year suspended prison sentence and a €400 fine.
Both will have to undergo psychological treatment for their personality disorders.
