HOUSTON -- A Houston man has been charged with what prosecutors are calling the worst case of child sexual abuse they have seen in years.
The suspect is in the Harris County jail with $50,000 bond. We are not releasing his name because he is related to the young victim and it is the policy of KHOU 11 News to protect the identify of juvenile sex crimes victims as much as possible.
The charge against the suspect is "continuous sexual abuse of a child." According to court documents, beginning last summer and continuing until January of this year, the 21-year-old suspect would sexually assault the 11-year-old relative almost every day.
"It was continuous over a long period of time. This wasn't just one sick act," said Sara Marie Kinney, public relations director for the Harris County District Attorney.
Authorities say the man allegedly would wait for the girl's mother to go to work each day, then he would come over and forcibly sexually assault her. The girl became pregnant and is now in her ninth month. In the apartment complex where both the victim and the accused relative live, some neighbors did not want to talk about the horrible case. Those who did were shocked to hear about it.
"Somebody needs to do something about this. This is completely unacceptable and I feel like she needs to talk to someone about this," said neighbor Jatori Rabenelo.
According to court documents, the girl's mother did not realize her young daughter was pregnant until the school told her.
"The child's school suspected that she was pregnant and reached out to the family, who then acted upon the allegations," Kinney said.
Authorities said when the accused was confronted by the girl's mom he sent a text to the young victim saying he would kill himself.
The executive director of Crime Stoppers, Rania Mankarious, said there is a lesson here for parents. She advised parents to talk to their children from an early age about being open about anything that happens to them.
"You lay the groundwork so they know that there's open dialogue. There's no judgment. There's no punishment, that they can speak to you freely," Mankarious said.
The suspect is scheduled for another court appearance Thursday. The young victim is expected to give birth very soon.
Big story in Houston..sick shit. Judge has since TRIPLED the bond since hearing of the pregnancy.