- The child had taken to hospital as she suffered from stomach pains
- The man was arrested on Monday after hospital staff alerted the police
A ten year old girl in Majorca was left pregnant after her stepfather allegedly raped her while her mother was at work.
The disturbing revelation was made when the child started suffering from a tummy ache, which prompted her mother to take her to the Son Llatzer hospital in the island’s capital Palma.
Doctors initially discovered several bruises and injuries suggesting that the child had been sexually abused before learning that she was also several weeks pregnant.
According to local reports, due to the severity of the girl’s injuries, she was transferred to Son Espases hospital and underwent surgery.
Her mother informed hospital staff that the only person that had looked after the girl was her current partner.
Police were called and the 35-year-old Spanish man was arrested on Monday.
He appeared before in court on Wednesday, telling a judge: ‘I am very sorry for what I have done, but it was only once’.
But according to Ultima Hora, the minor told police her stepfather had abused her over the course of a month.
The man also reportedly admitted to police that he had sexually abused his stepdaughter while her mother was at work.
It comes just months after a Spanish court acquitted a man who raped a 12-year-old girl and impregnated her after it ruled that their relations were just a part of the Romani culture.
Back in May, the court in Ciudad Real in central Spain took into account the socio-cultural context of the Gypsy ethnic group to reduce the sentence for sexual assault and abuse of a minor by a 20-year-old man.
This resulted in the perpetrator, who left his underage victim pregnant with twins, being acquitted.
The girl was first found to be pregnant after an examination by a doctor, who alerted authorities, leading to the man’s arrest.
Prosecutors had asked for a sentence of 11 years, but the court ruled to acquit.
The age of consent in Spain is 16, meaning anyone younger cannot consent to sex. However, the court ruled that the man should benefit from the legal exception.
