A GERMAN father and a dual-national mother who kept their three children confined inside their home in northern Spain for nearly four years have been jailed.
The Provincial Court of Asturias handed the couple a combined sentence of two years and 10 months in prison, each for habitual psychological violence and family abandonment.
The court found that the pair subjected their three children — twin boys and an older brother, now aged between nine and 11 — to prolonged isolation in the so-called ‘House of Horrors’.
This took place between December 2021 and April 2025 inside their secluded property in Toleo, Oviedo.
Each parent received a jail term of two years and four months for habitual psychological violence, plus six months extra for family abandonment.
The court banned them from parental authority for three years and four months and ordered them to pay €30,000 to each child.
Neighbours reported unusual activity, including food deliveries and sounds of children, even though no one ever appeared outside.
Police surveillance led officers to enter the home, where they discovered the three children living in extremely abnormal conditions.
The parents did not enrol the children in school, provide medical supervision, or allow them to leave their near-total isolation.
Officers described the discovery as deeply disturbing, with the children fearful, clinging to their mother and wearing multiple face masks.
READ MORE: Inside Spain’s ‘house of horrors’ where three children were kept prisoner since 2021
Authorities have placed the children under the guardianship of regional social services in Asturias.
During the trial, the defence claimed the situation stemmed from an extreme fear of Covid-19 following illness in the family.
Their lawyer said the children were not ‘detained’ but stayed at home voluntarily, and described the situation as ‘dysfunctional behaviour’ rather than abuse.
Prosecutors successfully argued that the lack of schooling and medical care constituted serious psychological abuse and neglect.
The prosecution initially sought more than 25 years in prison for each parent before the court issued its final ruling.
The children now remain in state care while social services assess their long-term needs.
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