Girl, Ten, Discovered Six Months Pregnant in Argentina After Seeking Hospital Care for Stomach Pain

A 10-year-old girl in Argentina was found to be six months pregnant after seeking medical attention at Colonia Dora Hospital in Santiago del Estero for severe abdominal pain.

Doctors discovered the advanced stage of pregnancy during an examination. Hospital staff alerted the police, who subsequently opened an investigation. The child identified her 33-year-old stepfather, identified locally as Julio Vivas, as her alleged assailant.

Vivas was arrested last Tuesday at the home he shared with the girl and her 25-year-old mother, who is also reportedly pregnant. Police confiscated his cell phone as part of their investigation into the circumstances of the alleged abuse.

Details regarding protective measures for the young girl remain unclear. Local media reports indicate that the girl's mother had experienced "violence and intimidation." The girl's grandmother, Norma Gomez, told local media that she had previously cautioned her daughter about her partner, whom she had met online. Gomez shared her own experience of suffering abuse at the age of 8 and had advised her daughter not to leave the child alone with Vivas.

This case draws parallels to a similar incident earlier this year in Brazil, where a 10-year-old girl gave birth after becoming pregnant by her stepfather. In that case, a 29-year-old man and the children's 30-year-old mother were arrested in Nova Olinda do Norte. The man was accused of repeatedly raping his stepdaughters, aged eight and ten, while the mother faced charges for improper omission. The abuse came to light when the older daughter went into labor. The mother reportedly provided contradictory statements to investigators in an attempt to shield the stepfather, who police believe she was aware was abusing and raping her daughters.