Mexico police rescues over 450 abused children held captive in orphanage‏

La Gran Familia (the Big Family), an orphanage in the Mexican city of Zamora was today raided by the police after investigations found children in the home were forced to beg for money and endure sexual abuse.

Tomas Ceron de Lucio, from the Mexican Agency for Criminal Investigation, revealed that the children were made to eat “rotten food, sleep on the floor with pests and were prohibited from leaving the premises”.

The owner Rosa del Carmen Verduzco along with eight other employees at The Big Family have been detained for questioning.

Investigations by the Mexican authorities began after parents complained that they were denied access to their children.

A woman, who grew up at the home and gave birth to two children – filed under the name of Ms Verduzco – was not allowed to take her kids along when she left the home at the age of 31.

The Mexican government has disclosed that the rescued children are being treated for psychological and sexual abuse and suitable homes are being looked for the victims.

Lordes Heredia, from BBC Mundo remarked: “Ms Verduzco was well-known by locals. The Facebook page for the orphanage boasts Mama Rose as the most beloved woman of Zamora and all her children.”

Founded in 1947, the orphanage relied on funding from churches, businesses, individuals and the government.

Vanessa Smart