The baby, just over two months old, allegedly a victim of physical abuse and sexual abuse by his parents, was discharged this Wednesday from the Vall d’Hebron Hospital, where he had been admitted since March 16. According to El Periódico and confirmed by EL PAÍS, the child has been placed with a foster family after the Generalitat assumed his guardianship by court order following the removal of parental rights. From now on, the child will have to attend the hospital periodically for follow-up check-ups.
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The parents, aged 42 and 43, remain in pretrial detention, accused of habitual abuse, very serious injuries, and sexual assault. The measure was ratified days after their imprisonment due to the risk of flight, the seriousness of the facts, and the possibility of repeat offenses. The judicial investigation remains open and does not rule out other avenues, although the parents remain the main suspects.
The case came to light on March 16, when the baby was taken to the Sant Pau hospital due to immobility in the right leg. Medical tests then detected a femur fracture and an anal tear, injuries consistent with abuse and assault, which immediately triggered the corresponding protocol. The child was urgently transferred to Vall d’Hebron, a reference center for child care, while the Mossos d’Esquadra proceeded to arrest the parents. Two days later, the judge ordered their pretrial detention without bail.
Before the alarms were raised, the baby had been through several health facilities without abuse being detected. Born in early February at Vall d’Hebron itself, where his mother worked as a nurse, the child passed the initial check-ups without incident. At the beginning of March, he began a journey through various medical centers. He was treated at the Hospital del Mar for vomiting and low-grade fever, and days later at Sant Joan de Déu, where a hematoma was detected and attributed to a catheter. Subsequently, they went to a health center and again to Sant Pau, where a maltreatment test was performed that yielded apparently normal results.
It was not until the last visit, on March 16, that the most serious injuries were identified, triggering judicial and police intervention. Since then, the baby has remained hospitalized, first in the intensive care unit (ICU) and later in the ward, with a favorable evolution.
Despite the clinical improvement, the Generalitat’s Health Minister, Olga Pané, warned days after the admission that the child will likely suffer sequelae resulting from the abuse. “He will survive, but with sequelae,” she said in an interview, describing the case as “very sad and unimaginable.” Doctors do not rule out long-term physical and neurological effects, so medical follow-up will be key in the coming months.
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