The 10-year-old child, who was not identified, weighed just 75 pounds, the hospital staff said. The girl reportedly told investigators that her mom thought she had a tumour. The girl was actually pregnant following a ra-e, an investigation has revealed. She was rushed to the hospital and doctors discovered that she was 5 months into pregnancy. The girl’s pregnancy was not discovered until her mother brought her to a public health clinic believing she had a tumor. The mother is also under arrest by authorities who believe she enabled her daughter’s abuse. The girl’s mother reportedly requested an ab0rtion for her daughter and was denied.
The 42-year-old defendant and the victim’s stepfather, Zarate, was arrested and taken into custody for the ra-e of the pregnant 10-year-old girl. Prosecutors said that she has been refused an ab0rtion. Zarate stands accused of ra-ing the young girl, who was five-months pregnant, and was on the run for 15 days. But the Government in Paraguay have refused the victim an ab0rtion due to its pro-life laws. Zarate insisted he was innocent and had been set up by his girlfriend, the Mirror reports.
He faces 15 years in prison if convicted of ra-e. “I will do any test to show it wasn’t me,” he said. “I’ve been with tonnes of women and I never got anybody pregnant.” Police issued a statement saying the man had been detained. The case has sparked a huge debate in the country over its tough anti-ab0rtion stance. Humanitarian groups argue that the girl’s “tiny” 75-pound frame could put her health at risk during pregnancy.
The girl, whose name has been withheld, was under medical care in a special ward for pregnant youngsters at the Red Cross Hospital, where she is the youngest of six girls who are either expecting or have already given birth. She originally went to hospital thinking she had a tumour, before discovering she was actually pregnant. A judge rejected a request by the girl’s mother to consider to possibility of an ab0rtion, The Mirror.
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