While some Italian families are turning to the courts to evict their adult children, another mother from Ferrara has been sentenced to one year and four months in jail for overprotective parenting.
The woman was first convicted of abuse and overprotectiveness in 2007 but was allowed two appeals. This week her sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court in Rome.
Prosecutors claimed that the actions of the woman during the boy's first six years of life stunted his development and charged her with child abuse.
The boy, identified only by his first name Luca, did not learn to walk fully until the age of six and did not interact with others. Despite being in first grade, Luca had the motor skills of a three-year-old.
While Luca's biological father paid child support to feed and clothe the boy, the mother banned him from every seeing his child. The father's lawyer said that they were satisfied with the verdict.
The woman's father, with whom the mother and son have been living, was also convicted.
The boy, who is now 14, is reportedly still living with his mother and maternal grandfather.
