An Italian court on Tuesday
sentenced a woman to three years and four months in prison for
mistreating her disfigured daughter and forcing her to beg
daily.
The girl, now 14, had been forced to beg since she was five
outside the same supermarket. Some regular customers noticed she
was always there and informed police in 2013.
Investigations showed that one of her sisters also begged
outside a hospital, and took the money she received to a nearby
Roma people camp, where they both lived with their mother, 31,
her partner, and five other small children.
The disfigured girl was forced to clean the shack where
they lived.
"I am the oldest of my siblings and I feel responsible for
them," she told the court during a protected hearing.
"Sometimes I withheld some coins to buy a blanket, a
brioche or some diapers. Once mum realised I said they were
gifts from a lady. Otherwise I would have been beaten up," she
said.
The adoption process for the two girls is now in process.
Their mother has run away to Romania, taking the other children
with her.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
