- Milagros Reyes Montánez
Milagros Reyes Montañez (born
1977 ) is aGuayama, Puerto Rico resident, who made national headlines onJune 24 of2004 , after defending her eleven-year-old daughter from a would-be rapist.mall 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.
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 hischest andback . 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 shorthospital ization before being taken to jail.The charges
Carlos E. Soto was charged with attempted rape,
sexual molestation andchild 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 judgeRuben Serrano for three violations of the Puerto Rican dangerous arms law and two violations to thedomestic 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.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.
ee also
*
List of famous Puerto Ricans External links
* [http://vocero.com/noticia.asp?n=44102&d=6/24/2004 "El Vocero"'s take on the case] (in Spanish)
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.