A Florida Woman Is Facing Charges After Abandoning Her Baby In A Dumpster
A Florida woman accused of abandoning her newborn girl in a dumpster will be kept in jail without bond, a judge ruled.
Rafaelle Sousa, has admitted placing her in a bag and throwing her in the dumpster. Workers at an apartment complex found the child alive Wednesday after hearing cries coming from a dumpster.
The abandoned newborn girl weighed in at nearly seven pounds. She was evaluated at a nearby hospital before being turned over to the care of the Florida Department of Children and Families.
Florida has a law that allows parents to relinquish unharmed newborns that are less than a week old. The infants can be dropped off at a fire station or hospital emergency room without fear of prosecution for child abandonment.
302 newborns have been surrendered under the Safe Haven Law, which has been in effect since 2000.
Sousa faces charges of attempted felony murder and aggravated child abuse.
