Juan Lorenzo Miranda-Jara (left in baby shower photo), (right) Desiree Castaneda (images via Tulsa Police Department)
A mother who allowed a man to rape and impregnate her 12-year-old daughter is behind bars in Oklahoma after pleading guilty to her role in the shocking offense.
Oklahoma court records show that Desiree Castaneda pleaded guilty on Sept. 20 for enabling child sexual abuse — see 21 O.S. 843.5(G) — and for child neglect — see 21 O.S. 843.5(C). While offenses are felonies punishable by up to life in prison, Castaneda received 15 years and records indicate she must serve at least 85-percent of the sentence before she is eligible for parole.
Oklahoma Corrections records say she was incarcerated in Tulsa County on Sept. 21, one day before she turned 36.
As Law&Crime reported previously, Juan Lorenzo Miranda-Jara was sentenced to two decades in prison back in March 2022 after pleading guilty to first-degree rape of a victim under the age of 14.
Tulsa cops said that they learned about the case only after the 12-year-old victim showed up at the hospital to give birth to the then-24-year-old suspect’s child.
“The investigation revealed that the victim’s mother and family members were aware of the relationship between the victim and Miranda-Jara,” police previously said, noting that there was even a photo of Miranda-Jara with the victim at a baby shower hosted by the family. “The family permitted the relationship, and there are photos of the family throwing a baby shower for the victim and the suspect.”
Juan Lorenzo Miranda-Jara (left) in a Dec. 1, 2022 prison mug shot and (right) pictured on March 25, 2022, in an Oklahoma Corrections mugshot after sentencing
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KOKI reported that Miranda-Jara was in a relationship with Castaneda before she let him live with her daughter as a couple and then enabled him to rape and impregnate the victim.
At the hospital, Miranda-Jara “proudly” admitted he was the biological father of the newborn even though the age of consent in Oklahoma is 16, cops said.
“They walked in just like any other couple would excited to deliver their newborn child,” Officer Danny Bean told local Fox affiliate KOKI at the time. “According to this version of events, Miranda-Jara proudly said he was the father of the baby the 12-year-old child was about to deliver. Cops suggested that he thought he was going to go home that day and acted as if what he did was legal.”
Like Castaneda, Miranda-Jara, now 26, will also have to serve at least 85-percent of his sentence before he is eligible for parole. He remains behind bars at the Mack Alford Correctional Center.
The Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office reportedly reacted to Castaneda’s sentence by calling the whole case “incredibly sad.”
“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 office said, according to KOKI. “Both defendants in this case are facing the consequences of their actions and will spend time in the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. Our hope is the victim in this case will be able to put this awful chapter behind her.”
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