French mother who hid baby for 2 years jailed

A French court on Friday sentenced a woman, who hid her baby in a spare room and the boot of her car for two years to two years in jail, FranceInfo and France Inter have reported.

In 2013, a mechanic who the woman asked to check a problem with her car found the two-year-old baby in appalling squalor after becoming suspicious about sounds he heard from the boot.

According to the reports, the girl, now aged seven and placed with a foster family, suffers from severe developmental disorders as a result of how she was treated in her first two years.

The woman’s husband and her three older children were reportedly completely unaware of the baby’s existence.

The court passed a five-year sentence, with the last three years suspended.

“But, the presiding judge suggested the woman could leave prison soon under a procedure to adjust the penalty, so she could continue to care for her three other children,’’ France Info reported.