Mother denounces school negligence after man posing as uncle takes 12-year-old son

A 12-year-old boy was taken from the Mariano Melgar school in Breña, Peru, by a man who falsely claimed to be his uncle. The incident occurred on August 18 when César Manuel Prado Hurtado, 49, entered the school and requested to take the minor, citing a medical appointment.

Despite registering his details, the man managed to escort the boy out of the school premises. The institution failed to verify his identity or relationship to the child. Prado Hurtado then took the boy to an apartment located half a block from the school. The student, feeling scared, managed to escape when the man was distracted in the kitchen, with the help of a building resident.

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The man posed as the uncle, filled out the register, and the doorman went to get my son to take him out. The auxiliary also didn't know who the man was because he first told him that his father had come to pick him up, but my husband passed away (...) He doesn't know his paternal uncles and he trusted (...) He took him to an apartment half a block from the school (...) My son felt fear and escaped.

Angélica, the boy's mother, denounced the school's negligence, stating that she was not notified of the incident even after her son returned safely. She learned about the event later that night from her son's account. "My son felt fear and escaped," she told ATV Noticias, recounting how the man had initially claimed to be picking him up for a medical appointment, and that her son, not knowing his paternal uncles, had trusted him.

The mother severely criticized the school's security failures, particularly the lack of identity verification and immediate contact. She expressed dismay that the school did not call her even after realizing the child had been taken by a stranger. "Even knowing that a strange subject had taken him out, nobody called me. My son told me later, at night. He told me they had tried to kidnap him," she detailed. The family has demanded the immediate implementation of school protocols and enhanced security. The Prosecutor's Office is investigating the case to clarify the events and hold those responsible accountable.

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My son returns to the school and explains to the doorman what happened, assuring him that he doesn't know that man. In the video (from the school's security cameras) you can see that my son points out to the doorman the place where they took him, but nobody calls me. Even knowing that a strange subject had taken him out, nobody called me. My son told me later, at night. He told me they had tried to kidnap him.