A 14-year-old girl who disappeared with her father while authorities investigated the death of her newborn daughter has been found safe in Mexico, and her father has been arrested, the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office announced Sunday.
The victim was rescued by Mexican law enforcement, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Her father, Sergio Galvez Perez, 38, was arrested during the operation after authorities allegedly found him in possession of narcotics.
Mexican authorities are also aware that Galvez Perez faces charges in Monterey County for alleged crimes against the victim, Sheriff Tina Nieto said.
“Monterey County Sheriff’s Office detectives have worked closely with the FBI and Mexican authorities to secure [the victim’s] safe rescue,” Nieto said.
The victim is currently in the care of authorities in Mexico. The Sheriff’s Office did not say when or where in Mexico she was found, or when she could return to the United States. The investigation remains active, and officials said additional information will be released at a future press conference.
The Pajaronian does not generally identify victims of sexual assault. Although authorities have publicly released the girl’s name in connection with the investigation and the Amber Alert, The Pajaronian is withholding her name because she is an alleged victim of sexual abuse.
The discovery ends a search that began as investigators looked into the Aug. 1 death of a newborn girl, whom authorities have called “Baby Angelita.”
The baby was found dead alongside Struve Road in north Monterey County. Investigators later determined that the victim, who was 14, had given birth alongside the road and left the newborn there. A post-mortem examination found signs of traumatic injury, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The victim was subsequently identified as a suspect in the baby’s death.
But investigators have also described the girl as the victim of alleged sexual abuse by her father.
Sheriff’s investigators previously said Galvez Perez is the biological father of both the victim and Baby Angelita. Authorities allege that he sexually abused and impregnated the girl when she was 13. Warrants were issued for his arrest on suspicion of incest, lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14, lewd acts with a minor, unlawful sexual intercourse, child concealment and child endangerment.
The victim’s mother, Ofelia Garcia Ortega, 36, was previously arrested on suspicion of felony child endangerment. Investigators said the charge stemmed in part from allegations that she failed to obtain medical care for the girl when circumstances should have prompted her to do so.
The search intensified in early September after investigators discovered surveillance footage showing the victim and Galvez Perez together in the Salinas area in a white Nissan Altima without license plates. The footage allowed authorities to confirm that the two were together and provided enough information to request an Amber Alert. They had last been seen in Salinas at about 2am Aug. 4.
At the time, investigators said they did not know whether the girl was with her father voluntarily or against her will.
The Sheriff’s Office said Sunday that a press conference will be scheduled to provide more details about the investigation, the victim’s rescue and Galvez Perez’s arrest.
