Nine-year-old gives birth to a baby girl in Mexico

A nine-year-old girl named Dafne gave birth in western Mexico, officials say. They are still searching for the 17-year-old father.

According to the Associated Press, Lino Gonzalez, a Jalisco state police spokesman, stated the nine-year-old gave birth to a baby girl in a hospital in Guadalajara.

She gave birth on Jan. 27 to a 5.7 pound girl through a cesarean section, the Huffington Post reported. Both mother and daughter are doing well.

“This is a rape or child sex abuse case,” said Gonzalez. Dafne told officials that the father was her boyfriend, but according to UNICEF, the age of consent in Mexico is 12. Gonzalez also stated, “Due to her young age, we don’t know if she is being entirely truthful.”

The father allegedly ran away when the baby was born and could potentially face child sex abuse charges if his paternity is proven.

Dafne is one of 11 children.

There have been only a few cases like this in recent years — a nine-year-old girl from China gave birth to a baby boy in 2010 and a 10-year-old girl from Colombia gave birth last year.