Three Arrested in Abruzzo Foster Home Disappearance Case
Three family members are in prison after two sisters, aged 12 and 16, disappeared from their Abruzzo foster home on June 6 and were found 15 days later in Formia, 220 kilometers away. The girls told police they wanted to stay with their mother—who now faces kidnapping charges along with her partner and father.
Valentina D'Acunto, her partner Vincenzo Esposito, and her father Marco D'Acunto are being prosecuted under Articles 573 and 574 of the Italian Penal Code for parental abduction. All three are currently detained: D'Acunto is in Teramo Prison, while Esposito and D'Acunto Sr. are in Sulmona Prison.
Why This Matters for Residents
• Custody orders are legally binding regardless of a child's stated preference. Under Italian law, parental abduction is a crime even when minors consent to the removal.
• Facility security is under scrutiny. The disappearance of two minors from supervised state care without immediate detection raises questions about protocols at residential communities in Abruzzo.
• Criminal liability extends to family members who facilitate unauthorized contact or removal. The charges against D'Acunto's partner and father establish that coordinating such removals carries serious legal consequences.
The Background: Seven Years in State Care
Sarah and Alisya Di Giacinto entered the state care system approximately seven years ago following their parents' separation. A Tribunale per i Minorenni (juvenile court) suspended parental responsibility for both mother Valentina D'Acunto and father Stefano Di Giacinto due to findings of instability and inability to provide safe care.
The girls spent years in multiple foster placements and group homes. In May—weeks before their disappearance—the L'Aquila family courts restored exclusive parental authority to their father while maintaining the suspension against D'Acunto. The judicial decision signaled a reassessment: one parent deemed rehabilitated enough to regain rights, the other still deemed unsuitable for unsupervised contact.
By June, both sisters were living at OFH Hope, an educational residential community in Civitella Alfedena in the Abruzzo mountains. The facility is responsible for providing both care and supervision of minors placed in its custody.
The Disappearance and Search
Between 11 p.m. on June 6 and dawn on June 7, both girls left the facility without triggering immediate alarms. Residential staff discovered the departure during morning headcount.
The Carabinieri and L'Aquila Provincial Command launched a regionwide search, treating the case as suspected abduction rather than runaways given the girls' ages, the custodial complexity, and their inability to travel independently across such distance.
After 15 days of searching, Carabinieri traced the girls to Formia, a port city in Latina province, where they were staying at an apartment belonging to a maternal uncle. When officers arrived, both girls were in good physical health. However, the younger girl showed resistance to leaving with police, and both told officers they wanted to stay with their mother.
The Charges and Legal Process
Prosecutors charged all three adults with conspiracy to commit kidnapping under Article 574-bis of the Italian Penal Code—a statute that criminalizes the planning and execution of parental abduction, regardless of whether the minor consents.
Under Italian law, parental abduction is prosecuted as a crime because custody orders are judicial decisions that supersede individual preference. Children under 14 have no legal capacity to consent to such removal. Children over 14 may express preferences to a court, but their wishes do not override judicial determinations about their best interests or custody arrangements.
The Public Prosecutor's Office of Sulmona is investigating the coordination between all three defendants, examining phone records, financial transactions, and travel logs. Formal indictments are expected within weeks.
Psychological Evaluations and Next Steps
Italian social workers and child psychologists are conducting formal evaluations of both girls to assess whether they were influenced or were acting on genuine preference. These assessments will inform prosecutors' trial strategy, sentencing recommendations, and any future custody decisions.
For now, both girls will return to supervised state care. Their father, Stefano Di Giacinto—the legally restored custodian—has not been implicated in the disappearance and remains their guardian, though the incident will undoubtedly complicate future family proceedings.
Both minors have access to court-appointed advocates—independent legal representatives whose role is to safeguard their interests separately from either parent. They will receive psychological support as part of standard protocols for children in care experiencing family conflict.
Facility Security Questions
The girls' departure from OFH Hope without triggering immediate detection has raised questions about residential facility protocols. Italian residential communities are expected to provide both nurture and supervision. However, specifics about staffing levels, security measures, and alarm systems at the facility have not been disclosed in official statements.
Abruzzo regional authorities may conduct reviews of child welfare facility protocols, though no official investigations have been announced as of this reporting date.
What Happens Now
The three detained adults will face preliminary hearings within weeks. Italian criminal procedure permits pre-trial detention when prosecutors demonstrate flight risk or evidence tampering concerns. In this case, the cross-regional coordination of the alleged removal and family relationships likely satisfied those criteria.
The trial will require prosecutors to establish the full extent of coordination among all three defendants and prove their respective roles in planning and executing the removal. The outcome will test how Italian courts balance sympathy for D'Acunto's desire for family reunification against the principle that custody orders must be enforced through law.
