RESOLVING THE LEDGER
This is one outlet's own report from The Independent — the article as it was filed. Other outlets are covering the same event; open the full story to compare every source side by side.
See the full story · 4 sourcesThe 14-year-old had given birth to her father’s child on a roadside in Monterey County and then left the newborn there, according to authorities
Bookmark Bookmark popover Removed from bookmarks
California police are on the hunt for a 14-year-old girl and her father after a newborn baby was found dead on a rural road in Monterey County.
Local authorities confirmed the baby — whom they are referring to as “Baby Angelita,” which means “Baby Angel” in Spanish — was discovered on the morning of August 1 after a passerby reported they had found her by the roadside.
The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office said they later discovered that a 14-year-old girl had given birth to Baby Angelita and placed her on the ground before leaving the newborn there. Officials determined Baby Angelita had “signs of traumatic injury,” the sheriff’s office said in a press release Monday.
Police are now searching for the 14-year-old girl, charged with murder, and her 38-year-old father, Sergio Galvez Perez, who Monterey County Sheriff Tina Nieto confirmed is also the father of the newborn baby. Authorities are not disclosing the teen’s name.
“I’m here to say to Sergio Galvez Perez, ‘You need to turn yourself in,’” Nieto said in a Monday news conference.
“Because really at the center of this is two children — Baby Angelita who lost her life and a 14-year-old child who’s now the subject of serious allegations involving the death of the baby, who is also a victim because of the sexual abuse by her own father,” Nieto added.
Authorities believe Galvez Perez is preventing police from finding the 14-year-old.
He has been charged with multiple sex crimes, including incest and unlawful sexual intercourse. The father is also suspected of child endangerment and child concealment.
The 14-year-old’s mother, Ofelia Garcia Ortega, 36, was arrested on a child endangerment charge and booked into the Monterey County Jail. She later posted bail and was released.
Sheriff Nieto praised automated license plate readers for aiding authorities in their investigation.
“Within 53 hours, let me repeat, 53 hours, with technology, our detectives had identified people connected to the case and that matters,” Nieto said at the press conference, adding that the cameras “make good police work more effective.”
The cameras, commonly referred to as Flock cameras after the company that makes them, have recently been at the center of controversy following concerns that local authorities could share information with federal officials, such as immigration agents, and that police officers were misusing the cameras to illegally surveill people .
The Los Angeles Police Department suspended the use of Flock cameras in July “ until we can get those data, privacy, security and sharing concerns ironed out,” Dean Gialamas, the Los Angeles Police Department's chief information officer, told ABC7 at the time.
Authorities asked anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Galvez Perez or the 14-year-old to contact Monterey County Sheriff’s Office Detective Sergeant Nicholas Kennedy at (831) 755-3773 or Detective Richard Geng at (831) 759-7279. Those who wish can remain anonymous.
AIPROPX is an independent multi-source news index — we track, compare, and connect coverage from across the web into one place you won't find anywhere else.