CHATTOOGA COUNTY, GA. (WRCB)– Trion Police are holding two Guatemalan nationals in the Chattooga County Jail on charges of rape and aggravated child molestation.
Reecardo Venicio Diaz Macario, 20, and his cousin Martin Nolasco Diaz, 19, are accused of raping the teenage daughter of their landlords for more than six months. The girl delivered a baby boy early Wednesday morning.
“She carried the baby full term, never mentioned it to anybody, and then delivered it by herself in her bedroom,” says investigator Shannon Goins. “She’s one tough little girl.”
Emergency personnel called in police to investigate after the girl’s parents called 911 late Wednesday morning, Goins says.
“Her mom had gotten up about 8:00 o’clock that morning and she heard the sounds of a baby crying,” says Goins. “When she went to investigate, she found her daughter in the bedroom with a newborn baby, the umbilical cord still attached.”
The girl’s parents told investigators that they had no idea she was pregnant.
“She hid it very well,” says Goins. “When her parents would ask about her gaining weight, about her getting bigger, she’d make some comment about eating too much so that she could play sports.”
The girl plays soccer for her middle school, investigators say.
“She told us she was scared and embarrassed to admit what had happened,” says Goins. “She had been threatened to prevent her from reporting the incident.”
Macario and Diaz moved to Rome, Georgia, just before Christmas. Police arrested them at their apartment there early Wednesday afternoon.
“We’re seeking warrants to take DNA samples, to determine which of them is this baby’s father,” says Goins.
The suspects’ immigration status complicates matters.
“They’re illegals,” says Goins. “Each of these guys has worked under a couple of aliases. I’m pursuing them now, but ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement) has been notified.”
Georgia’s Department of Family & Children’s Services (D-FACS) also is investigating, says Goins.
“For the moment, she and her baby are at home with her parents. She plans to keep the little boy,” says Goins.
