The child was terrified and could not localize his family’s address when security services initially found him.
Meknes – Morocco’s General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) responded on Wednesday to a woman’s distress over her 13-year-old son’s disappearance. The woman had not gone directly to Tangier’s police but rather had reported the case of her missing child on an information website.
A statement by the DGSN on Wednesday said the city’s police reached out to the woman and recorded her statements. A series of investigations led to the identification of the whereabouts of the missing child, with police locating the missing boy at a social welfare center in Tangier.
DGSN’s statement denies any criminal aspects of the case.
Emergency patrol police initially found the child abandoned in a critical psychological state after he became separated from his mother. At the time, he was unable to give police any identifying information.
Security services handed the boy to the social welfare center as they worked to identify him and his family’s location.
After picking up the mother’s report, police informed the woman that her child is at the social welfare center. The DGSN said the two will be reunited once the boy’s mental health is in a normal state.
Tangier’s prefectural judicial police department is investigating the case, pending the previously missing child’s return to his mother.
Recent events, especially in northern Morocco, have witnessed escalating calls to address attempts at kidnapping and raping minors. After the shocking case of Adnane Bouchouf, an 11-year-old who was kidnapped, raped, and killed in September, parents in Tangier are on high alert.
On September 12, Tangier police managed to arrest a 36-year-old man before he allegedly attempted to kidnap and assault an 11-year-old child.
The victim’s father coordinated with DGSN to catch the suspect red-handed with some gifts he intended to give the child, after establishing a virtual relationship through Facebook.
The recurrent events of child abuse have sparked a wave of anger, backlash, and sadness among Moroccans.
Some Facebook users launched a campaign urging the government to reactivate the death penalty against people charged with violent crimes against children.
