Authorities Say Migrant Girl Was Sexually Abused Prior To Suicide

By Mónica Ortiz Uribe
February 26, 2015

Authorities say a 12-year-old girl who committed suicide at a Mexican migrant shelter near the border last year was sexually abused.

The body of Noemi Alvarez Quillay was discovered hanging from a shower curtain rod last March at a shelter in the Mexican border city of Juárez. The Ecuadoran girl had been traveling with smugglers who were supposed to take her to New York City where her parents lived illegally.

Federal authorities from Mexico and Ecuador announced at a press conference last week that a joint 11-month investigation revealed the girl was sexually abused days before her death. U.S. law enforcement, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations, also aided in the investigation.

A confidential source familiar with the investigation told a Juárez newspaper that local authorities purposefully left out details about the abuse in the girl's autopsy report. Juárez authorities dispute that claim.

On Monday, 42 people were indicted in Mexico City for their alleged role in a transnational smuggling ring involved in transporting the Ecuadoran girl and other migrants.