A 19-year-old is facing a rape charge after a 12-year-old girl he met online reportedly gave birth to his baby. The accused, Raymundo Juan Reyes Cornelio, was arrested in Nashville, Tennessee, on Friday, April 11, according to the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD).
The arrest comes nearly two months after the minor gave birth to a baby boy on February 14. According to People, police reported that the little girl was only 11 years old when the sexual encounter occurred in May 2024. She told detectives that she had met Cornelio through Facebook and they only had sex on one occasion.
Following her statement, the authorities acquired a search warrant for the suspect’s Facebook account. Upon investigating the social media account, they obtained his name and phone number, helping to identify him as the alleged perpetrator.
“She said she met the individual through Facebook. From the detail provided by the girl, a search warrant was executed on the suspect’s Facebook account, which produced his name and telephone number,” the MNPD stated in a press release, according to People.
Further investigation revealed that Cornelio had previously been stopped by police on March 1 for a window tint violation. During that traffic stop, he was cited for driving without a licence. Cornelio was “issued a state misdemeanor citation for driving without a license,” according to the MNPD.
The citation contained his Davidson County address,” MNPD added. That citation included a Davidson County address, which later helped detectives locate him. Cornelio was subsequently taken into custody for questioning, during which he reportedly admitted to having had a sexual encounter with the girl.
He was 18 years old at the time, and he claimed that he believed the little girl was 14 when it occurred. Cornelio was booked into the Downtown Detention Center, where police say he remains in custody on a $75,000 bond.