Governor appalled by rape of 13-year-old girl with autism

By The Star Staff

Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia on Tuesday described as “appalling” the case of the minor with autism who is pregnant allegedly after being raped by a relative in Gurabo.

“That incident was totally appalling. It makes one’s soul churn when one sees things like that,” the governor said in response to questions from the press. “There are already cases of a criminal nature pending in the courts, but obviously it is necessary to investigate and investigate thoroughly to see who failed, including people close to this victim.”

Asked if the investigation should include government employees, Pierluisi replied that “no one is excluded.”

“What you have to try for is that these things do not happen again,” he said. “The truth has already begun to come out through the media. What happened is outrageous. The reality is that there was no complaint before the Family Department and the question is why not? Why didn’t everyone [associated] with this girl raise their voice? Every time there is abuse of a minor it is an atrocity, but when you add that it is a minor with a condition like the one this girl has, who could not even communicate, basically her life depends on the adults around her. And I hope that justice is done and that, if any agency, whichever it is, could have dealt with the matter in another way, that the changes that have to be made are made.”

The girl, who also suffers from severe autism, is seven months pregnant and is currently confined to a hospital in the Caguas area.

Carlos Soto Rivera, the minor’s stepfather, was charged with child abuse and sexual abuse after he allegedly confessed to having raped the minor. He was summarily placed in the Bayamón prison, after a bail of $300,000 was imposed, which he did not produce.

Subsequently, the mother of the 13-year-old minor was brought before a magistrate for the filing of criminal charges for negligence. Both are incarcerated.