Monterey County DA charges mother of rescued girl whose newborn was found dead on roadside
DA charges mom after rescued girl’s newborn found dead
Ofelia Garcia Ortega, 36, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with several crimes, including child endangerment.
MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. - The Monterey County District Attorney on Wednesday charged the grandmother of "Baby Angelita" with child endangerment and other crimes after the woman’s 14-year-old daughter – accused of killing her own newborn child – was found in Mexico along with her father who is suspected of impregnating her.
Mother allegedly let teen daughter drive, work in fields
Dig deeper:
Ofelia Garcia Ortega, 36, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with two felony counts of displaying or possessing a forged identification card, and one misdemeanor count each of permitting a child to suffer or be endangered and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
"For many months on end, she was causing her daughter to work in the fields using false documentation," said Assistant District Attorney Lana Nassoura.
"This 13-year-old child, who should have been in middle school, was actually out of school for many months," Nassoura said. "She was driving a vehicle without proper licensing."
The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office said an investigation revealed Garcia Ortega allegedly "put her daughter to work in agricultural fields at age 13 using falsified documentation, allowed her to drive without a license, and allowed her to remain completely out of school."
The woman is being held in jail on $150,000 bail. She appeared briefly Wednesday in court, but her arraignment was delayed until Thursday so she could secure an interpreter from her native region of Mexico.
Monterey County sheriff finds car tied to Amber Alert for missing teen girl, father
The Monterey County Sheriff's Department says the car associated with an Amber Alert issued over the weekend has been located.
Newborn found on roadside
The backstory:
Around Aug. 1, the teenager drove herself to a strawberry field on Struve Road in Moss Landing, gave birth to a premature baby girl and then killed the infant, according to the sheriff's office.
Authorities issued an Amber Alert for the girl in the days following the discovery, alleging that the girl was a victim who was abused by her father, 38-year-old Sergio Galvez Perez.
The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office on Sunday said it "received confirmation" that the teenage girl had been safely recovered by authorities in Mexico, and that her father had also been arrested in the country.
The Monterey County District Attorney’s office has charged the father with sexual assault related to his daughter but has not charged the teenager in the infant's killing.
What they're saying:
The teenage girl is both a victim of incest and a murder suspect, the sheriff's department said in September.
"Unfortunately, two things can be true at the same time. You can be both a victim, and you can be a suspect," Sheriff Tina Nieto said previously.
Without elaborating, the sheriff said they had evidence pointing toward the teenage mother as the one who killed the baby.
Prosecutors said they have not received any case from the sheriff's office against the 14-year-old girl with respect to the infant's death.
Nassoura said the criminal charges against the teen's parents are serious.
"Absolutely Jane Doe is a victim in this case. She was the victim of a horrendous sexual assault by her own father, and she was the victim of her mother's wrongdoing as well," Nassoura said.
Henry Lee is a KTVU crime reporter. E-mail Henry at Henry.Lee@fox.com and follow him on X @henrykleeKTVU and www.facebook.com/henrykleefan
The Source: Information for this story came from the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office, Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine Pacioni’s office, and from previous KTVU reporting.