Scandal in Mehedinti: 8yo orphan girl taken by special forces to be given to U.S. foster family

A eight-year-old girl has been taken by special police forces from the house where she had been raised by a foster carer in Baia de Arama, Mehedinti county, western Romania, after the girl had been adopted by a Romanian-born family living in the U.S.
While locals slammed the authorities’ intervention in force, prosecutors explained that the foster carer where the girl has been living since she was one year old had refused twice to adopt the girl and that the adoption to America had been concluded and is legal.

A prosecutor within the Prosecutor’s Office upon Craiova Court of Appeal has ordered searches to be conducted at the foster carer’s house on Friday, as the woman held no longer the position of foster carer and was thus keeping the girl illegally. Moreover, the foster carer opposed that the girl should leave for America to the couple that had adopted her.

Prosecutor Tena Tulitu explained that the adoption had been concluded and the pair from America were legally the girl’s parents. She also said the Police from Craiova is investigating this case, with the foster carer being charged with forcible confinement, as she held the girl illegally. The girl was taken and handed to her foster parents, who are Romanians established in the USA. The adoption was Okayed by the Craiova Court of Appeal in 2019.

In retort, the representatives of the General Directorate of Social Assistance and Child Protection Mehedinti claim that they hadn’t been informed that girl would be taken by special police forces from the house where she had lived for 7 years.

Moreover, the footage featuring the special forces officers taking the girl show that the child refuse to go, crying “Mom, I don’t want to leave“.

Neighbours were revolted by the incident. “Is this how the justice is served? By force? Not even criminals are taken the way this little girl is taken“, a woman reproached the special forces fighters.

It seems that the foster carer where the girl was living refused to adopt her, and she also raised another girl, whom she also denied adoption.

Prosecutor who went on the scene to take the girl said he had not harmed the child, and that she just wanted to take her in the arms and give her to his foster father.

“This girl was considered a hard to adopt child and the parents refused twice to adopt her,” prosecutor Maria Piturca stated, explaining that the girl was struggling and refused to go for “she had been lied that she will be taken abroad to be harmed”.

The prosecutor further said that the foster carer emotionally abused the girl  and withdrew her from school. Moreover, there is suspicion the girl was neglected as she had been admitted to the town hospital in Baia de Arama with several affections, such as malnutrition, pneumonia and gastroenteritis.