'Feral' girl, 12, sold to pedophiles by mom for vodka rescued after she escapes from cage and crawls on four
Authorities in Russia have rescued a 12-year-old "feral" girl who they say was subjected to horrific abuse and sold by her mother to pedophiles in exchange for vodka.
The disturbing tale comes from the Chechen Republic, according to the Sun, where the young girl was found after she somehow managed to escape from her cage onto the streets. Locals came upon her as she was crawling on all fours.
Local reports state she was so malnourished that she looked between five and seven-years-old and not her actual age, and that she was so dirty and filthy that a pink necklace she had been wearing had become embedded into the sores on her neck.
Speaking about the situation, a source with knowledge of the case revealed to the Oryol Times that the girl was the eighth child of an alcoholic mother who had her previous seven children taken away by child protective services for numerous reasons.
"The mother hid this child in every possible way", the source said. "At home - she was kept in a cage, and if she had to go somewhere, carried her a bag on wheels."
The source said the 12-year-old was sold into sexual slavery by the mother for a bottle of vodka, adding that she now "pounces on food" and curls into a ball in the corner of the room when she is approached by anyone.
A neighbor of the mother said she would keep the girl locked in her room during the cold weather, and that, during the summer, she was kept in a small paddock that was home to various animals, including cows and stray dogs. The child is currently being treated at a hospital for exhaustion, with the source describing her condition as one that was "not for the faint-hearted."
Authorities have still not gotten around to charging the mother, who has maintained her innocence and claimed that the sexual slavery allegations are "bulls***."
A local ombudsman did suggest that the girl's problems were "genetic" and not the result of the way she was raised, but that did nothing to placate angry citizens who have demanded answers from social services as to why there wasn't any record of her healthcare.
Alexander Bastrykin, the head of the Russian Investigative Committee, has announced that he would be personally overseeing the case.