A California girl who had reportedly been sexually abused and impregnated by her father has been rescued in Mexico, and her father arrested, the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office said.
Mexican law enforcement officials found the girl, now 14, in an operation coordinated with the FBI and Monterey County detectives, Sheriff Tina Nieto said Sunday. Her father, Sergio Galvez Perez, 38, was arrested after authorities said he was found with narcotics.
Nieto said that the girl “is safe and is currently in the care of local authorities in Mexico.” She added that Mexican authorities are aware of the charges that Galvez Perez faces in Monterey County.
The investigation started on August 1, when investigators found the dead newborn daughter of the girl, whom they called “Baby Angelita,” beside a rural road in north Monterey County. Investigators say Galvez Perez fathered the baby.
The sheriff’s office did not reveal the whereabouts in Mexico where the two were found, nor whether authorities will seek Galvez Perez’s extradition. Details are expected to be released at a future press conference.
Firefighters, medics and sheriff’s deputies were sent to the 100 block of Struve Road, near Highway 1 north of Moss Landing, about 8:30 a.m. on August 1 after a report of a newborn found beside the road. The baby was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators later determined that the girl had given birth beside the road, put the baby on the ground, and left. Forensic analysis showed signs of traumatic injury, but the specifics have not been disclosed.
Detectives gave the infant the name “Baby Angelita,” which means “Baby Angel” in Spanish. Nieto told reporters at a news conference, “She was a newborn child whose life was tragically taken.”
At first, investigators had very little to go on. They used automated license plate reader cameras to track a car registered to Galvez Perez and his wife, and within 53 hours they identified people associated with the case, the sheriff’s office said.
Monterey County Sheriff’s Cmdr. Andres Rosas said the girl was 13 when she became pregnant and that DNA or other evidence showed that Galvez Perez is the baby’s father.
Deputies had contact with Galvez Perez about four weeks before the warrants were issued, during an unrelated misdemeanor warrant, and he was cited and released because detectives had not yet established probable cause linking him to the baby’s death, Rosas said.
A father and daughter were last seen in Salinas on August 4. The California Highway Patrol issued an Amber Alert for the girl on September 6 after surveillance video showed them together in a white Nissan Altima without plates.
Galvez Perez is being accused of several crimes, including incest, lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14, lewd acts with a minor, unlawful sexual intercourse, child concealment, and child endangerment. Prosecutors say the abuse happened while the girl was under 14, and Rosas pointed out that all of the sexual offenses involve the girl.
Detectives had accused Galvez Perez of hiding his daughter to keep investigators from finding her.
The girl was initially being sought in connection with the baby’s death. In late August, the sheriff’s office obtained a Ramey warrant, a judge-issued arrest warrant based on probable cause, naming her as a murder suspect. The decision came under fire on social media and from local officials.
“She’s also a victim because of the sexual abuse by her own father,” Nieto commented at the time.
Monterey County Supervisor Wendy Root Askew wrote on Facebook, “A child cannot consent to sex with an adult.”
On September 2, the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office said that it had not been consulted about the warrant and had not decided whether to charge the girl. The office stressed that she “is a victim of her father’s abuse.”
Prosecutors say that victim advocates are ready to help the girl and connect her with services. She has not been charged with any crime.
There has been no homicide charge filed against Galvez Perez in connection with the baby’s death, and the investigation is ongoing. Investigators have not revealed how they think the baby died.
The girl’s mother, Ofelia Garcia Ortega, 36, was arrested on suspicion of felony child endangerment and released after posting bail. Rosas said that the allegation partly comes from investigators’ belief that she did not seek medical care for her daughter. Detectives also found four other children living in the family’s home in conditions they considered unsafe.
Prosecutors say they are reviewing potential charges against Garcia Ortega that are unrelated to the infant’s death and the alleged sexual abuse.
The sheriff’s office has not said when the girl might return to the United States. There was no immediate word on whether Galvez Perez, the band member who sings and plays keyboard, had an attorney.
Authorities set up a temporary altar beside a farm field on Struve Road, near where Baby Angelita was found.
