An Oklahoma mother has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for allowing her ex-boyfriend to rape and impregnate her 12-year-old daughter, the New York Post reported.
“Desiree Castaneda, 35, had allowed her 24-year-old ex Juan Miranda-Jara to live with her daughter after they split — and even threw them a baby shower after the youngster was expecting,” according to the report, which cited Fox23.
Police arrested Miranda-Jara while he was at the hospital as the young girl gave birth. He was later sentenced to 20 years behind bars for first-degree rape.
The mother was sentenced last week to 15 years after pleading guilty to enabling child sexual abuse and child neglect, according to the report.
“The facts of this case are incredibly sad,” the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement. “Children should be able to rely on their parents for protection from people like Juan Miranda-Jara. For Desiree Castaneda to allow this to happen to her daughter is appalling.”
The 12-year-old girl arrived at a Tulsa hospital already in labor in June 2021 with Miranda-Jara, whom police said expressed excitement about becoming a dad. Tulsa police told Fox23 in 2021 that the two “walked in just like any other couple would, excited to deliver their newborn child.”
“Miranda-Jara appeared surprised at his arrest because the relationship — which was also Faceook [sic] official — had the approval of the girl’s mom, whom he’d previously been in a relationship with, police said,” the report states.
The young girl’s father is already in prison for a different sex crime and is uninvolved in her life, according to police.
Miranda-Jara was convicted of rape in March 2022, and Castaneda was arrested around the same time. Both have been ordered to register as sex offenders once they are released.
“Both defendants in this case are facing the consequences of their actions and will spend time in the Oklahoma Department of Corrections,” the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office said. “Our hope is the victim in this case will be able to put this awful chapter behind her.”