3-month-old baby dies after allegedly being sexually abused by stepfather

Colombian authorities captured a 17-year-old man accused of sexually abusing a three-month-old baby who later died in a hospital in Galapa, Atlántico, in the north of the country, local media reported Monday.

The incident occurred on Saturday night in the Mundo Feliz neighborhood, when the baby was allegedly sexually abused by her mother's partner. According to the preliminary version of the investigation of the case, the minor was admitted to a health care center without vital signs, showing signs of sexual violence and physical abuse.

The hearing against the alleged perpetrator took place on Monday when a judge legalized his detention. The Colombian prosecutor's office presented before the judge evidence that included the medical history of the baby's admission to the hospital in Galapa.

The accused will be sent to the El Oasis Re-education Center in Soledad (Atlántico) as a preventive measure. He was charged with "homicide in concurrence with violent carnal access in aggravated circumstances," to which he did not plead guilty.

The 17-year-old had recently entered into a relationship with the baby's mother, reported Semana.

According to the little girl's grandmother, her mother was at work during those hours and left her in his care. It was after the crime that the subject took her to her mother-in-law's house, informing her that her granddaughter had a high temperature.

"He brought her to the house. I had just arrived. He told me that the girl had become ill, and when I took her, she already had cold feet. I ran to the hospital believing that my granddaughter was still alive, that something could be done for her," she said, cited by El Heraldo.

"Cuando ya estábamos en el centro médico y coloqué a la niña en la camilla, la doctora me dijo que había llegado sin signos vitales (...) una de las enfermeras comenzó a revisarla y llamó a la doctora, pregunté qué pasaba, pero en ese momento no me dijeron nada y me sacaron porque iban a hacer más exámenes", agregó la abuela de la víctima

It was at that moment that the baby's mother arrived at the health center and received the news. "My daughter came in, carried her, screamed at her thinking that it would wake her up… they told her that the baby looked abused and told her about the sexual abuse, so she went into shock."

The victim's grandmother began questioning the 17-year-old:

"Cuando llegó, le pregunté que si había visto a la niña en mal estado por qué no la había trasladado antes, pero me dijo que le había dado fiebre en días anteriores y que lo que había hecho era ponerle compresas de agua tibia y que se había quedado dormida", dijo.

The mother of the deceased child, denied the version of the alleged aggressor, claiming that the baby never had fever. The authorities then proceeded to capture of the young man.

The young man had moved in with the victim's mother 11 days earlier. The baby's grandmother confessed that the couple had only been together for three months.

In response to the case, Mayor José Fernando Vargas claimed that the criminal "deserves to be punished." 

"The alleged perpetrator is a minor, according to what we have been informed, but he must also be subjected to the law, since it is a clear case of femicide of a girl just three months old," he added.

Vargas said that "it is outrageous that this event occurred precisely at the end of Children's Month, when we all embrace those who make up the new generations."