Hundreds of children freed from abusive home in Mexico

World Today

Police seized a children’s home in Mexico, freeing 458 children who were being held against their will and severely abused. CCTV’s Franc Contreras.

Authorities in the western town of Zamora say the children, mostly boys, were forced to beg and suffered from sexual abuse. The facility also held six infants under three years old.

The home had been operating for 40 years, but police investigations began only recently after five parents complained they were being denied access to their children. Police detained the owner, Rosa del Carmen Verduzco, and eight workers for questioning.

The mother of a boy held at the home said Wednesday she was only allowed to see her child three times a year and that the home’s owner demanded $2,800 to release him.

Mexico’s federal Attorney General’s Office said the children remained in the home Wednesday while authorities made sure they were being fed and looked for places to transfer them.

458 children freed from abusive home in Mexico

Police seized a children's home in Mexico, freeing 458 children that were held against their will and severely abused. CCTV's Franc Contreras.

Report compiled with information from The Associated Press.