Three charged after 11-year-old gives birth in bathtub

Baby taken to hospital with umbilical cord still attached

Three people are facing criminal charges after an 11-year-old girl gave birth in a bathtub in St Charles, Missouri.

A man and woman face a charge of child endangerment and a 17-year-old boy faces charges of statutory rape and statutory sodomy of a child younger than 12.

Authorities have said the teen admitted he raped the girl around 100 times but claims he did not know she was pregnant.

On 11 February a man brought a baby to St Joseph’s Medical Centre in Missouri an hour after it had been born.

The child was still attached to the umbilical cord and placenta and had a body temperature of 90 degrees, almost 10 degrees below the expected body temperature of a newborn.

The man initially denied any involvement and said the baby had been abandoned on his doorstep.

He eventually admitted he knew the girl who had given birth and this prompted police to open an investigation.

Detectives were notified and went to the couple’s suburban St Louis home where they found the 11-year-old.

The woman is also accused of failing to provide medical care to the child upon giving birth.

All three people were arrested and the woman and 17-year-old boy have been ordered to remain in custody with bonds set at $10,000 and $25,000 respectively.

Bail for the man was set at $10,000, cash only.