The Story of a 30-Year-Old Woman

Within a couple hours of arriving in Talanga, Gracie took Melissa and me to the pharmacy where a woman and her family were waiting for her.  The woman, who is 30, but looks younger than 20, had been held captive by her mother and father for many years.  Her father raped her repeatedly, and she has had five of her father’s children.  The woman recently had a baby boy, but because he was sick, she and the baby had to stay in the hospital for longer than anticipated.  The woman’s aunt – Gracie was not sure which side of the family she was on – came to the woman’s rescue, and helped her and her five children escape once she was released from the hospital.  The aunt brought the woman to Talanga where she lives, and Gracie is now helping them pay for the medicines the children need.

Juliana's Story - Told by Her Great-Grandmother

Juliana was an 18-month-old girl, whose stepfather, Rudy, would molest and rape her.  Her mother, Ana, knew this was happening; however, she too was being abused, and felt that any abuse done to Juliana’s took some of the abuse off of her.  Their neighbors knew what was being done to Julianna as well – they would hear her screams at night.  On June 12, 2011, Juliana’s stepfather raped, and then suffocated her.

Here's the link to the news story - it's in Spanish obviously, but I wanted to share it.

Rudy drove Ana and Juliana's body to her great-grandmother’s house in Talanga, dropped them off, and drove away.  Her great-grandmother, who is 80 or 90, was so upset and thought she could save her, not realizing she was already dead.  Julianna’s neighbors ended up calling the police because they knew she had been murdered, and that her mother and stepfather were trying to get rid of her body.  They waited until AFTER she was dead to speak up.  Night after night, they could hear Julianna being abused, and did nothing to stop it.

I had the opportunity to meet Julianna’s great-grandmother on June 20, 2011.  This old lady, who is dirt poor (literally) and gets maybe a few grains of rice a day, lives in the worst conditions.  Two of her grandsons live with her, and both are drug attics.  She also takes care of two of her great-granddaughters – one is in the picture below.  They barely get any food, and the little girls teeth are completely rotted because she is extremely malnourished.  The great-grandmother has two sons, both of whom work in construction, give her money for food when they can.

Fortunately, the police questioned everyone involved, found Rudy and Ana, and the trial was conducted the following Sunday.  Rudy received 20-30 years for murder, and an additional 15-20 for special rape, which is when a family member rapes a minor in the family.  Because Ana was an accomplice to the murder, she is getting the same sentence of 20-30 years.  They are both being sent to special detention facilities because in Honduras with a case like this, they would both be raped and murdered by other inmates in a very short time.  It’s great to know that both of these people are in jail; however, it is obvious that Julianna’s mother was being victimized as well.  I personally believe that the stepfather should get a life sentence for murdering an innocent child.

Juliana's Great-Grandmother and one of her great-granddaughters

Her drinking water...

The back of her house...

Her kitchen

The hallway

A living room/bedroom