Relatives of a teenage Texas girl are now behind bars for alledgedly assaulting her and causing the death of her unborn child.
Dallas County police arrested Sharon Jones, Cedric Jones, Lonnell McDonald, Cecila McDonald for allegedly assaulting the then 14-year-old to induce abortion, according to Dallas News. The girl is now 16.
Robert Joseph Cayald, 22, who allegedly raped the girl when she was only 13, was also put in prison, the publication added in its report.
According to the girl's testimony to police, her own cousins "took the matter into their own hands" and beat her up when she was 8 months pregnant, Deputy Chief Gil Garza said.
According to her filed affidavit, she lost a lot of blood at the time but the family simply gave her iron pills and never took her to the hospital. She added that one of the suspects later burned and discarded the fetus' body, reports CBS Dallas.
Child Protective Services is now caring for the teenager, who gathered her courage over the course of a year before approaching police to report the crime. She was accompanied by a woman who witnessed her ordeal.
Deputy Garza said that the victim should be commended for her bravery in coming forward to report the horrendous crime.
