Everything we know as three children 'rescued' after ‘COVID syndrome' parents locked them inside home for 4 years

Warning: this article discusses themes which some readers may find distressing.

Three children that were allegedly being held in their home for four years by their parents have been rescued.

On Monday (April 28), eight-year-old twins and their sibling, 10, were rescued by Spanish police.

The three children are thought to have been kept inside since 2021 and reportedly haven't been to school over this period.

Additionally the children are reported to have been made to abide by COVID restrictions even though such rules — such as wearing face masks — have long been lifted.

After being rescued, the kids underwent a medical evaluation and are now in government custody at a juvenile centre, Sky News reports.

Their parents have since been arrested. It's believed that they have something called 'COVID syndrome' and have been charged on suspicion of domestic violence with habitual psychological abuse and child abandonment, according to Oviedo Police Department.

The couple, aged 53 and 48, are being held without bail.

The home where the children were being held (PABLO LORENZANA/AFP via Getty Images)

What is COVID syndrome?

Also known as COVID anxiety syndrome (CAS), this is a mental health condition where a person is still living in fear of the virus.

As per VeryWellMind, symptoms of this include compulsively checking for symptoms of COVID; avoidance of public places; obsessive cleaning; and other manipulative behaviors.

What have police said about the case?

Oviedo Police Chief Javier Lozano dubbed the property a 'house of horrors' during a press conference. Another agent told newspaper El Mundo: "The children were in terrible shape. It was absolutely outrageous. Not malnourished, because they were fed. But they were also dirty… [and] completely cut off from reality, and not just because they didn't go to school."

The children were made to sleep in cots (Police handout)

The agent added: "When we took them out of the house, into the garden, where they wouldn't even go outside, they saw a snail and went crazy, freaked out."

What did police find at the house?

Reportedly police found that the children, despite their age, were seemingly made to sleep in cots that had drawings of monsters scribbled across them.

The home was also filled with garbage and littered with large quantities of medication and masks that presented a 'clearly unsanitary situation'.

Police had to speak to the children, born to German parents, in English because they did not know how to speak Spanish in light of them not going to school.

If you’ve been affected by any of these issues or want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, the Childhelp USA National Child Abuse Hotline (1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453) operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and receives calls from throughout the United States, Canada, US Virgin Islands, Guam and Puerto Rico.