Milagros Reyes Montánez

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Milagros Reyes Montañez (born 1977) is a Guayama, Puerto Rico resident, who made national headlines on June 24 of 2004, after defending her eleven-year-old daughter from a would-be rapist.

1 Small biography
2 Police account of what happened
3 The charges
4 Public reaction
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Small biography

Reyes Montañez was born at the South Puerto Rico city of Guayama. At the age of sixteen, she gave birth to a daughter. Years later, she met a man named Carlos E. Soto, with whom she began to live soon after they met.

[edit] Police account of what happened

According to Puerto Rican police, Reyes Montañez returned home on June 20 of 2004 to find Soto on the verge of raping her daughter. As soon as she caught him, she jumped on to the bed and struggled with him. Reyes Montañez was able to drop Soto to the floor, tying him with a rope. She proceeded to undress him and grab a knife. Reyes Montañez then used the knife to stab Soto several times on his chest and back. Her stabbings were done in such a way that they read "Niños no tocar!" ("Children do not touch!"). Soto and Reyes Montañez were promptly arrested, but Soto required a short hospitalization before being taken to jail.

[edit] The charges

Carlos E. Soto was charged with attempted rape, sexual molestation and child abuse. His bail was set at two hundred fifty thousand dollars, which he could not pay, so he was sent to jail. By her part, Reyes Montañez was charged by judge Ruben Serrano for three violations of the Puerto Rican dangerous arms law and two violations to the domestic violence law. Her bail was set at one thousand dollars, which she paid. She was sent free pending trial.

On September 20, 2004, trial began for both Soto and Reyes.

[edit] Public reaction

Reyes Montañez has become something of a folk hero to Puerto Ricans across the island. Her stand against a would-be rapist has been seen by many as an heroic thing for a mother to do. In a poll conducted by Puerto Rican newspapers, most voters agreed that she should not be sent to jail.