Police rescue teenage girl, 19, who was ‘held prisoner in house for 10 years after being removed her from school to be home-tutored aged nine’ – as parents are arrested for neglect
- Girl, 19, was allegedly kept prisoner at home by her parents in Tenterden, Kent
- The teenager was said to be in a ‘distressed state’ when police rescued her
- Her parents were arrested for neglect and a multi-agency inquiry was launched
A 19-year-old girl was allegedly kept prisoner at home by her parents for ten years and was rescued by police are a tip-off from a neighbour.
The teenager, said to be in a ‘distressed state’ was found in the family home in Tenterden, Kent, having been trapped in the property since she was nine.
Her parents were arrested for neglect as a multi-agency inquiry was launched over claims the authorities failed to check on her.
It is reported that her mother and father took her out of school when she was nine to home tutor her.
The teenager, said to be in a ‘distressed state’ was found in the family home in Tenterden, Kent (pictured) having been trapped in the property since she was nine.
But the girl, who is said to have special needs, has not been seen since and was kept at the family home.
A source told The Sun: ‘The girl was in a distressed state when she was found and has been taken into care. She is receiving physical and psychiatric help.
‘But there are a lot of questions being asked over how it could have happened.’
The source: ‘It is hard to comprehend how it could happen.
‘The girl had apparently not been seen by a GP or dentist in all that time.
Her parents were arrested for neglect as a multi-agency inquiry was launched over claims the authorities failed to check on her at the property in Tenterden (pictured)
‘The education authority and social services lost all track of her.’
Her parents have been released on bail pending further inquiries.
The case has echoes of cases like the disappearance of Natascha Kampusch, who was abducted in 1998 at ten and held in a secret cellar in Austria for more than eight years before she escaped.
It was not known what was behind the Kent girl’s imprisonment.
A police spokesman said: ‘Kent Police were called at 2.34pm on Thursday, August 22 with reports of concern for the welfare of a 19-year-old individual at an address in Tenterden.
‘Officers attended and two people from Tenterden were arrested on suspicion of neglect and later released on bail.
‘Kent Police and a number of partner agencies are investigating.’