{"id":3801,"date":"2026-05-28T13:34:07","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T13:34:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/boy-9-rescued-after-15-days-locked-in-tiny-cupboard-as-stepfather-arrested\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T13:34:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T13:34:07","slug":"boy-9-rescued-after-15-days-locked-in-tiny-cupboard-as-stepfather-arrested","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/boy-9-rescued-after-15-days-locked-in-tiny-cupboard-as-stepfather-arrested\/","title":{"rendered":"Boy, 9, rescued after 15 days locked in tiny cupboard as stepfather arrested"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"article-body\">\n<h2 class=\"LeadText_lead-text__wd_PA __className_d097ad\" data-testid=\"leadtext\">A nine-year-old child was found by police in a storage cupboard at the family home in M\u00e9rindol, Vaucluse, with his stepfather reportedly taken into custody<\/h2>\n<div class=\"Byline_byline-container__K_Owl\" data-testid=\"byline\"><span class=\"Byline_byline-content-wrapper__Imque\" data-testid=\"byline-content\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"Byline_author-badge-date-wrapper__Q7jj1\">\n<p><span class=\"\" data-testid=\"byline-publishedDate\"><\/span><span class=\"ArticleTimestamp_updated-date__7qD4Q ArticleTimestamp_updated-date-with-published__iFKpF\" data-testid=\"byline-updatedDate\">Updated <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<p><button type=\"button\" class=\"SlideViewerButton_slide-viewer-button__BDJoG\" aria-label=\"Open image viewer\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-controls=\"image-lightbox\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-embed__0T8WX ImageEmbed_image-lead__Ti3qQ\" data-testid=\"leadimage\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"37217491\">\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-container__2AIQm\">\n<figure class=\"Figure_figure__Uce4f\" style=\"--figure-aspect-ratio:1.5\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"eager\" sizes=\"(max-width: 508px) 508px, (max-width: 615px) 615px, 1200px\" src=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article37217491.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200f\/0_Aerial-view-of-Merindol-village-in-Provence-France.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article37217491.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s508\/0_Aerial-view-of-Merindol-village-in-Provence-France.jpg 508w, https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article37217491.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s615\/0_Aerial-view-of-Merindol-village-in-Provence-France.jpg 615w, https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article37217491.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200f\/0_Aerial-view-of-Merindol-village-in-Provence-France.jpg 1200w\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"ImageCaption_caption__j7HRu\" data-testid=\"image-caption\">\n<p aria-label=\"A small boy was kept prisoner in a cupboard in the village of Merindol, France\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">A small boy was kept prisoner in a cupboard in the village of Merindol, France<cite aria-label=\"Image: Getty Images\/iStockphoto\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-credit__wlx1W\" data-testid=\"caption-credit\">(Image: Getty Images\/iStockphoto)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<p><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">A nine-year-old child has been rescued after being locked in a metre wide storage cupboard for 15 days at a property in France.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The youngster was found by police at the family home in M\u00e9rindol, Vaucluse, on Friday, May 22, with his stepfather reportedly taken into custody<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">An anonymous person alerted the authorities, concerned about the welfare of the boy. He was &#8220;always being punished&#8221; and not included on family outings with his mother, stepfather and three brothers, neighbours told France 3 Provence-Alpes .<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">After the tip off, police went to the family home which is a small house in the village of 2,000 inhabitants, where they found the boy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;The child was discovered by the police after the stepfather allowed access to the home and confirmed he was there,&#8221; said public prosecutor of Avignon, St\u00e9phanie Aouine.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\"><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">This is a Breaking News story. 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