By SABRINA PENTY, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER
Published: | Updated:
A 10-year-old girl in Argentina was found to be six months pregnant after she was taken to hospital with a stomach ache.
The child was taken to Colonia Dora Hospital in Santiago del Estero by her mother, after she complained of having severe abdominal pain.
Upon examining her, doctors discovered that she was at an advanced stage of pregnancy.
Hospital staff alerted police, who opened an investigation. The child later revealed to officers that her 33-year-old stepfather, named locally as Julio Vivas, had raped her.
He was arrested last Tuesday in the town of Avellaneda at the house he lived in with the girl and her 25-year-old mother, who is also pregnant, according to local reports.
Police seized his cell phone and are working to determine the circumstances under which the child was abused.
It is unclear what measures have been taken to ensure the child's well-being, but according to local media, the young girl's mother was experiencing 'violence and intimidation'.
The girl's grandmother, Norma Gomez, told local media she had previously warned her daughter about her partner, whom she had met online.
Julio Vivas (pictured) was arrested over the alleged rape of his stepdaughter
The 10-year-old girl was taken to Colonia Dora hospital by her mother after experiencing a severe stomach ache, where she was found to be six months pregnant
Speaking to Argentine broadcaster Noticiero 7, Gomez expressed anguish over what allegedly happened to her granddaughter and said she had told her daughter to not leave the child alone in his care.
'I went through the same thing that the little girl went through when I was eight years old. I know what it's like to suffer,' Gomez said.
It comes after a 10-year-old girl gave birth in Brazil earlier this year after becoming pregnant by her rapist stepfather.
A 29-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman were arrested in Nova Olinda do Norte on April 7.
The man was accused of repeatedly raping his stepdaughters, aged eight and ten, while the children's mother was arrested for improper omission.
The abuse only came to light on April 3 after the older daughter went into labour and gave birth, according to local reports.
The young girl was taken to a hospital, where medical staff immediately alerted police due to her age.
The mother gave a contradictory statement in a bid to protect the girls' stepfather.
Investigators said that she was aware of the abuse and rape that her daughters were enduring and attempted to hide that information from officers.