Mother of rape victim charged for negligence
By The Star Staff
The mother of a 13-year-old minor who was raped and made pregnant, allegedly at the hands of her stepfather Carlos Soto Rivera at his residence in Gurabo, was brought before a magistrate Monday for the filing of criminal charges for negligence, said Commander Gerardo Oliver, head of the Caguas Criminal Investigation Corps.
“Charges are being filed for negligence because we believe that with such an advanced state of pregnancy, she must have known in some way that something was happening with the minor, since in plain sight it was clear that she was pregnant,” Oliver said in a radio interview. “She [the mother] has remained sparing [in her comments], saying that she did not know about these events. She is part of the investigation that we have been conducting since yesterday when she was arrested and today she will be brought before a magistrate to file charges.”
He added that the girl’s biological father alleged that he was unaware of the situation. The man will be interviewed by the Family Department to determine who will retain custody of the minor, Oliver said. The commander said he did not know if the father had a close relationship with the minor.
The girl, who also suffers from severe autism, is seven months pregnant and is currently confined to a hospital in the Caguas region.
Authorities filed charges against Soto Rivera, her stepfather, on charges of child abuse and sexual abuse after he allegedly confessed to having raped the minor. He was summarily placed in the Bayamón prison after a $300,000 bail was imposed, which he did not pay.