Man accused of impregnating 10-year-old step-daughter wants paternity test

A man accused of raping and impregnating his ten-year-old stepdaughter in Paraguay has insisted he is innocent and offered to take a paternity test.

Benitez Zarate, 42, was arrested on Saturday after spending 15 days on the run and appeared bruised and battered as he told the press 'I have not touched (her)'.

A manhunt was launched for him when his stepdaughter was taken to hospital by her mother after complaining about stomach cramps - and doctors found that she was 21 weeks pregnant.

Pictured today in handcuffs with a bandage around his bloody nose and a giant bruise on his head, he told reporters he was innocent.

He was arrested in the city of Caazapa, 200 miles southeast of the capital Asunción.

His pregnant stepdaughter is unable to have an abortion as termination is illegal in Paraguay, even in cases of incest and rape.

The girl has instead been moved to a 'young mothers' home' and her mother has also been arrested over the alleged rape.

Weighing only 34kg before the pregnancy, the child is five months pregnant and will be 11 years old on May 25. 

If convicted of raping her, Zarate faces up to 15 years in prison. 

Speaking to La Press CA, police chief Tomas Paredes said: 'He's very elusive, he knows what awaits him.'

While sat in front of reporters, the stepfather defended himself, saying: 'I am willing to pass all tests to prove that it's not me' and suggested the allegation was invented by the girl's mother.

Amnesty International is now calling on Paraguay's government to allow the girl to have an abortion for the sake of her health.

'The physical and psychological impact of forcing this young girl to continue with an unwanted pregnancy is tantamount to torture,' Guadalupe Marengo, Americas Deputy Director at Amnesty International, said.

'The Paraguayan authorities cannot sit idly by while this young rape-survivor is forced to endure more agony and torment.

'Forcing this child to carry a baby to term, against her will, could have devastating health consequences.' 

Local authorities supported by the Catholic Church have strongly rejected the option of termination, arguing in particular, that the pregnancy is now at an advanced state. 

On Tuesday, the girl's mother petitioned the hospital to allow the child to undergo an abortion but was refused.

Instead, the mother has been arrested by police, and is currently in custody facing charges of breaching duty of care and being an accomplice of sexual abuse. 

Amnesty International say the girl has been admitted to a local Red Cross hospital after doctors acknowledged that her pregnancy is high risk. 

Rosalia Vega, director of the international rights group in Asuncion, said yesterday that a request to make an exception to the law and allow the girl to have an abortion has been made to the Health Ministry and Justice Department. 

'It is heart breaking to think of the horrifying ordeal this ten-year-old child has already suffered, to force her to continue with this unwanted pregnancy would be a further violation of her rights and will only prolong the horror,' Ms Marengo added.

According to health statistics, 680 Paraguayan girls aged between ten and 14 gave birth in 2014.