TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Mexican police on Tuesday rescued 458 children from a refuge shelter known as "La Gran Familia" (The Big Family) in the western city of Zamora. "We found that there were around 500 children in truly terrible conditions," Attorney General Jesus Murillo told Reuters.
The children in the refuge, some of which have experienced sexual abuse, had to beg for money on the streets, eat unsanitary food, and sleep on the floor among vermin. La Gran Familia was run by Rosa Verduzco, hosting in total of 278 boys, 174 girls, and six infants - as well as 138 adults aged up to 40.
La Gran Familia was founded in 1947, initially aiming to look after children abandoned by troubled parents. However, some parents claimed that Verduzco, now under intensive interrogation, refused to return their child when asked.
ANINGTIAS JATMIKA | REUTERS
