No, I didn’t fall for the propaganda one bit. Neither did I fall for the Patriot’s alleged success against the SCUD (thank God the SCUDs performed as badly as it did. The mobile silos were surprisingly effective, as only one was hit.)
Anyway, there are a lot of stories of women as young as six giving birth in the Carribean/South American countries. If this involved in a relationship, then usuually no charges are posted. Tragically, this set of mores combined with the governments’ neglect of the poor allowed people like him to roam the streets for years, preying on the young.
To add to this discussion: I do not know the details of the DR’s statute on minors and sex, BUT, extrapolating from what I’ve known about legal and social environments in the region, it may be the case that even if the formal statute is nominally more severe, old social mores to the effect that the important thing is the “honor of her father” result in a way out by which you CAN fix that legally after-the-fact by marrying/bethrothing to her with her parents’ consent (besides there are statutes of limitations).
But in any case we have here a fellow who had no qualms about using his own son as his meal ticket ILLEGALLY when he COULD HAVE DONE SO LEGALLY! He could have had him play for a team of 14-year-olds – but of course, he could not have “sold” him as some sort of freak prodigy, just as another very talented boy (so instead of getting the Big Money right away he’d have to go to the minors). He didn’t even have to come and overstay a tourist visa, the D.R. is CRAWLING with MLB scouts!!
Hey, and how come this boy who was 13 and 14 (or allegedly 11 and 12) for the last year and a half get away with NOT being in school??? What’s the compulsory schooling grade/age in the State of NY? You mean Little League does not, like, verify that the kids ARE in school, in order to be eligible to play?
Six??? Is this even humanly possible? Young girls aren’t capable of producing offspring until they have started menstruating. I have heard of the occasional nine or ten-year-old having periods, but a six-year-old?
My sister-in-law told me she was seven when she first got her period. Her sister was seven or eight (she couldn’t remember for sure). Hardly scientific evidence, I know, but there you have it. It is still (I’m assuming) extremely rare, but I guess it can happen.