A 70-year-old man is facing multiple child sex abuse charges after allegedly impregnating a 13-year-old girl who arrived at a hospital believing she was constipated.
Renaud Jerome, of Boca Raton, Florida, is accused of three counts of sexual activity with a child and one count of impregnating a child after it was revealed the girl he had been living with was 14-weeks pregnant.
The 13-year-old arrived at North Broward Medical Center in Pompano Beach on the morning of May 24 to complain that she was in pain.
She was then medically assessed by doctors who revealed she was more than three months pregnant. The Florida Department of Children and Families and the Broward County Sheriff's Office were then called, reports the Miami Herald.
According to a police report, the girl said she was living with Jerome and that he would repeatedly touch and have sex with her. The heavily redacted police report does not reveal what the relationship is between the girl and Jerome. The suspect, who only speaks Creole, told police that he looks after the 13-year-old at times at his Boca Raton home.
"Jerome stated that within the last couple of months he has had consensual vaginal intercourse with [redacted] three times," the Boca Raton police report said. "Jerome stated that [redacted] was interested in him more than he was interested in her and never forced her to do anything."
Jerome also admitted that the unborn child is his, reports The Palm Beach Post. He is being held in the Palm Beach County Jail without the possibility of posting bond. A judge has also ordered that he has no contact with the girl or anyone else under the age of 18 pending the outcome of the investigation.
The age of consent in Florida is 18, although close age exemptions exist meaning those aged 16 or 17 can lawfully consent to sexual intercourse with a partner no older than age 23. No child under the age of 16 can legally consent to sex in Florida.
The state also introduced a so-called "Romeo and Juliet law" designed to stop teenagers or high school age couples being labeled as sex offenders for having consensual sex with each other.
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