A criminal group abused German children in Romania, denying them food and medication and forcing them to pull carts alongside animals, Romanian officials said on Thursday. The victims, aged between 12 and 18, were taking part in the so-called Projekt Maramures set up for troubled German youths.

Romanian authorities designated the project founder, a 61-year-old German, as the main suspect. He and four others had been arrested. The founder's wife, also a German citizen, has been banned from leaving the country.

Maramures officials kept the residents "in conditions of true slavery" and exploited them "with barbaric methods," according to Romania's prosecutors in charge of fighting organized crime.

They were also barred from contact with the outside world and occasionally placed in isolation, which could last for several weeks, officials said.

In cahoots with local police?

According to the Projekt Maramures home page, the farm specializes in working with youths suffering from "massive disorders in social behavior, delinquency, drug abuse, and repeated underage offenders."

It was not immediately clear how many children were affected, although 20 were still at the premises when prosecutors searched it this week. The abuse had started in 2014, according to the investigators.

The prosecutors also believe that the group had misappropriated funds paid by the German government in support of the camp. A search of the German man's home unveiled €137,000 ($151,420) in cash, with officials also finding almost €9,000 at the house of one of his associates. The two suspects could not immediately provide an explanation for the money.

Judicial sources quoted by local media say that local police and authorities were working with the camp management.

The officials reportedly warned the camp staff ahead of every visit by German authorities or child protection services.

Alerted by runaway youth

German officials said they were aware of the issue and were in contact with their Romanian colleagues. They also said they had never heard of any complaints about the program. The German consulate in the western Romanian city of Timisoara was providing consular assistance to the detained camp founder.

Romanian investigators launched a probe after one of the home residents fled the farm and alerted the authorities, according to local paper Banatul azi.

dj/msh (AP, dpa, AFP)

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