Fellow villagers had turned to the Social Welfare Services to report the alleged abuse of five children living in a livestock facilty Dromolaxia, Larnaca before the case was made public, local media reported on Monday.

The same site was the scene of a fire overnight on Sunday, but no people or livestock were injured.
Deputy Minister of Social Welfare Marilena Evangelou described the abuse case as “very, very serious”, emphasising that authorities have been investigating it since the first complaint was filed.

“All reports are evaluated, but the development of the case should take place in court, so as not to affect the investigations and protect the interest of the children,” she said.

Evangelou said that Social Welfare Services had investigated the complaint and taken the children under their protection.

On Monday morning, police announced investigations into the fire that destroyed machinery in the house where the children had allegedly been abused.

The fire reportedly broke out shortly after midnight on Sunday and members of the fire service managed to extinguish it only after it had damaged the machinery in the building.

The residence belonged to a 48-year-old man and a 41-year-old woman, both of whom are facing trial for the severe and prolonged abuse of their five children over several years that had come to light last week.

The five children, four girls and one boy, aged seven to 23, two of them from a different father, said they had been subjected to abuse and forced labour.

According to sources, the eldest reported to have been sexually abused by her stepfather for about ten years, with the knowledge of her mother.

After the case was reported to the Larnaca police domestic violence office, both the 48-year-old father and stepfather and the children’s 41-year-old mother were arrested.

In terms of the fire, fire service spokesman Andreas Kettis, in a post on X, said that Larnaca fire stations responded with three fire engines.

The Social Welfare Services have now confirmed that despite conducting regular, both scheduled and unannounced, visits to the family home, no indications of sexual abuse or exploitation were ever reported. In an official statement, the ΥΚΕ described the case as “serious” and revealed that the deputy minister of social welfare has requested a full fact-finding report on the matter.

Once the first suspicions were raised, officials immediately informed the police, setting the legal process in motion. This ultimately led to the criminal proceedings now underway.

The statement further clarified that an anonymous report concerning the family’s living conditions had previously prompted intervention. However, throughout years of engagement with the family and other involved parties, no allegations of sexual abuse or child labour were ever made.

Following the recent complaint to the police, all children involved were placed under the care of the ΥΚΕ, while the case now unfolds before the Criminal Court.