18-year-old is mother of baby 'abandoned' on Schertz porch

Police say child was never abandoned; no charges planned

SCHERTZ, Texas – Schertz police said an 18-year-old is the mother of a baby who was reported abandoned on a porch Monday afternoon.

Police spokesman Lt. John Correu said the teenager told her parents, who were unaware she was pregnant, that she found a baby on the porch. Her parents then called police to report the abandoned child.

It was later determined that the 18-year-old was the mother of the baby and she had given birth inside the home earlier in the day, Correu said.

The baby boy is healthy and currently in emergency custody with Child Protective Services. The agency is working to determine the long-term custody of the child, whether it be with the mother, other family members or in some other arrangement.

Correu said the mother will not be charged in the case as it appears the child was never actually abandoned.

"Based on what we've determined in the investigation, I don't think it was ever even left on the doorstep. I think that was just a story that got this whole thing rolling," he said.

He said she could be charged with making a false report, but given the circumstances, that is not planned.

Correu said the mother has not said why she didn't tell her parents she was pregnant or why she made the report.

Erica Banuelos, regional director of Child Protective Services, said she was relieved the infant was unharmed and never in any danger.

But she encourages other young women in similar predicaments to call 211, the United Way Helpline.

“Just know that there are lots of community resources out there,” Banuelos said. “If you’re struggling to tell your parents that you are having a child and are worried about how to care for that child, there are resources out there in the community that can help you have those conversations.”

Banuelos also said there is always the Baby Moses Law, which allows mothers to drop off their unharmed babies under 60 days old at fire stations, emergency rooms and freestanding emergency clinics, no questions asked.


About the Authors:

Jessie Degollado has been with KSAT since 1984. She is a general assignments reporter who covers a wide variety of stories. Raised in Laredo and as an anchor/reporter at KRGV in the Rio Grande Valley, Jessie is especially familiar with border and immigration issues. In 2007, Jessie also was inducted into the San Antonio Women's Hall of Fame.