Woman arrested after baby found abandoned in Lynwood park trash bin says she was raped

A 22-year-old woman who is accused of discarding her newborn boy in a Lynwood park trash bin this month told authorities the baby was the result of a rape that occurred in Guatemala, shortly before she immigrated to the United States, according to authorities.

Los Angeles County sheriff’s detectives arrested the woman Thursday on suspicion of child abandonment.

A woman visiting Yvonne Burke-John D. Ham Park this month heard whimpering from a trash bin in a women’s restroom. Inside, she found an infant among the rubbish. There was evidence the boy was delivered in the bathroom, and authorities said he appeared to be a day or two old when found.

California

After a baby is found in the trash at a Lynwood park bathroom, 2 women are sought

An infant boy was found inside a trash can in a women’s bathroom at Yvonne Burke-John D. Ham Park

June 17, 2021

Detectives reviewed video surveillance from a local business that showed two women and a child with a pink tricycle. The detectives stopped at a nearby apartment complex, where a resident identified the people in the photo and led the detectives to their apartment.

During the investigation, the 22-year-old woman admitted she had given birth to the baby June 9 and discarded him out of fear, authorities said. She told detectives she had come to the U.S. illegally from Guatemala two months earlier and that no one knew she was pregnant.

The baby was taken to a hospital after being found and was in stable condition.

Many people inquired about adopting the child, including Sheriff’s Department investigators, fire personnel and nurses who treated the boy at the hospital. An adoption process was initiated for the baby, who was placed into the care of the L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services.

California law allows parents or guardians to surrender a newborn at hospitals and fire stations without legal repercussions.