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A mother in France was sentenced to 18 months in prison for leaving her nine-year-old son to live alone in an apartment in Nersac for two years.
The woman, identified as Alexandra, moved into her partner's apartment about three miles away in 2020, leaving her son to fend for himself.
During his two years living alone, the boy survived by eating cake, canned goods, and stolen tomatoes, CNN reported. Neighbors noted that the apartment didn't have heat or hot water for stretches of time.
Despite living by himself, the young boy continued to go to school and was doing well.
The Mayor of Nersac, Barbara Couturier, realized something wasn't right when she met the boy's mother in 2022.
"I met his mom on May 2022. She came to tell us that she had financial problems, and we gave her four vouchers for food, but she took some processed food products instead, so that got me suspicious. Some residents told me that there was a child living alone, so I connected the two things, and I called the local police and the national police," Couturier said.
The boy has been in the care of social services since September 2022.