Monterey County prosecutors charged the mother of a 14-year-old girl at the center of the Baby Angelita investigation with two felonies and two misdemeanors on Tuesday, Oct. 6.
Ofelia Garcia Ortega, 36, was arrested at the Salinas Superior Courthouse at about 2:45 p.m. after detectives served a warrant issued earlier that day, according to the Monterey County Sheriff's Office. Deputies took her into custody without incident. She was booked into the Monterey County Jail.
Garcia Ortega faces two felony counts of displaying or possessing a forged identification card, one misdemeanor count of permitting a child to suffer or be endangered and one misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, according to the Monterey County District Attorney's Office.
She is being held on $150,000 enhanced bail, which she had not posted as of Tuesday evening, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing Monterey County Sheriff's Office Commander Andres Rosas. Garcia Ortega had previously been arrested Aug. 4 on suspicion of child endangerment, posted $50,000 bail and was released that same day, Rosas told the Times.
District Attorney Jeannine Pacioni said Garcia Ortega was scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday, Oct. 7, in Salinas, KSBW reported.
Investigators allege Garcia Ortega put her daughter to work in agricultural fields at age 13 using falsified documentation, allowed her to drive without a license and kept her completely out of school, according to the District Attorney's Office.
The charges stem from the broader investigation into the death of Baby Angelita, a premature infant found dead Aug. 1 in the 100 block of Struve Road near Moss Landing. An autopsy indicated the infant suffered traumatic injury, according to the Sheriff's Office.
As we reported Oct. 5, the teen's biological father, Sergio Galvez Perez, was located with the girl in Janos, a town in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua. Galvez Perez was arrested in Mexico on drug charges and remains wanted in Monterey County, where he faces three felony counts: lewd act upon a child with an enhancement for great bodily injury, incest and child abuse.
The 14-year-old is in the care of Mexican child protective services, according to the District Attorney's Office. In a Sept. 2 statement, the office said it recognized the teen as a victim of her father's abuse and that its priority was ensuring her safety and access to support services.
The FBI and Monterey County Sheriff's Office planned to hold a news conference Thursday, Oct. 8, in Salinas to release additional details about the investigation and the efforts to locate and rescue the teen, according to KRON4.
Anyone with information about the case can contact the Monterey County Sheriff's Office at (831) 755-3773.
