An 11-year-old girl who was made pregnant by a rapist is expecting a second baby, say officials in Brazil.
The pregnancy was discovered when the girl was staying in a Child Services-run shelter in Teresina, Piaui, north-eastern Brazil on Friday, 9th September.
The Child Services reported the incident to the police.
The girl’s dad told local media that his daughter has so far refused to reveal who the father is.
At the time of reporting, there were no apparent suspects.
The girl had fallen pregnant for a first time in January 2021 after she was raped.
Her father said the suspect was one of her cousins, who was murdered shortly after the alleged crime.
It is not known who killed him or why, but the girl carried her pregnancy to term.
Her father told local media that she also plans to continue with her current pregnancy, even though abortion under Brazilian law is legal in cases of rape.
The Child Services said the rape that resulted in the girl’s current pregnancy would have been committed in June.
The girl and her infant son were taken in by the Child Services in August at the request of her father, who alleged that she had misbehaved.
Child Services spokeswoman Renata Bezerra said: “At the shelter, they noticed her behaviour was different and she was taken to the maternity hospital.
“They did some routine exams so she could remain at the shelter and she was asked to undergo a Beta-hCG test.
“The test came back positive, indicating that she was 10 weeks and one day pregnant.”
Child Services staff took her to her father’s house on 9th September and advised them to terminate the pregnancy.
But the girl’s family decided otherwise.
Bezerra said: “On Friday, when we arrived at her house with a positive pregnancy test, we tried to urge her to get a legal abortion, via the Public Prosecution Service, but we needed her parents’ authorisation. And her mother wouldn’t authorise it.”
The girl is now living again with her father.
Her mother, who is divorced from her father, lives in another house.
The police investigation into who raped and impregnated the girl for a second time begins today (12th September).
The suspect, if caught, faces from eight to 15 years in prison if found guilty of sex with a child under 14 years of age.
