A 20-month-old baby in Oaxaca died earlier this month from injuries sustained during several instances of sexual abuse, according to authorities.

Reported as having no name as she was still not officially registered with the government, the girl lived in the municipality of Villa de Zaachila, located near Oaxaca City.

Authorities stated that the girl was taken to a local children’s hospital with a severe fever at the beginning of February. She died on February 10 despite doctors’ efforts to save her.

Authorities became aware of the sexual abuse upon seeing the results of the autopsy performed as required by law.

Identified as María, the girl’s mother was not allowed to receive the body of the child, because she had never registered the baby in order to obtain a birth certificate. DNA samples were taken to prove the woman’s parenthood.

The girl’s maternal grandmother, Juana, also solicited a request for the girl’s body and the corpse was turned over to her 11 days later.

Authorities reported that three other children living in the household, and also believed to be victims of sexual and physical abuse, were put into the protective custody of the state DIF family services system.

The Oaxaca state Attorney General’s Office (FGE) reported on February 12 that it arrested the girl’s father as the principal suspect in the case. Identified only as Ernesto, the man also faces charges from an alleged rape carried out in 2017.

A judge placed Ernesto in preventive custody and granted three months for the trial to be carried out.

Sources: El Universal (sp), El Imparcial (sp)