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Texas Probation Officer Charged With Having Juvenile Probationer's Baby
Texas Probation Officer Charged With Having
Juvenile Probationer's Baby
by Gary Hunter
Laura Hernandez, a 32 year old probation officer, was arrested October 30, 2003 when it was discovered that the father of her child was only 16 years old.
The boy had been placed on probation for possession of an unloaded gun. Once in Hernandez' custody the two became intimate. She admitted taking the boy to a restaurant and to the movies. She claimed it was a reward for his getting good grades in school. But the boy's younger siblings told their mother that they had seen Hernandez and their brother "with their clothes off in...[his] bedroom."
Hernandez' original story was that the baby's father was a 29 year old man from Laredo. But the former Fort Worth probation officer's story fell apart when the 16-year boy's mother realized the truth.
For a time the youth had hinted at being a father. His mother initially dismissed the idea until she discovered the baby's picture in her son's wallet.
"It had a name and a date on there," she said. "We didn't know anyone named Hernandez, and so I put two and two together and thought, `Oh my God.'"
According to his mother, the boy had also "bragged about being a father and getting a fake birth certificate to make it appear he is now 18 instead of 17."
After the mother contacted Hernandez' supervisor with her concerns, a search of Hernandez' office turned up altered birth certificates that appeared to confirm the boy's story.
Ultimately, Hernandez was required to submit to DNA tests which confirmed the boy's paternity.
Hernandez turned herself in after a warrant was issued for her arrest. She is charged with sexual assault of a child under 17 and is free on $7,500 bond. If convicted the ex-probation officer could be sentenced to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Source: Dallas Morning News
Juvenile Probationer's Baby
by Gary Hunter
Laura Hernandez, a 32 year old probation officer, was arrested October 30, 2003 when it was discovered that the father of her child was only 16 years old.
The boy had been placed on probation for possession of an unloaded gun. Once in Hernandez' custody the two became intimate. She admitted taking the boy to a restaurant and to the movies. She claimed it was a reward for his getting good grades in school. But the boy's younger siblings told their mother that they had seen Hernandez and their brother "with their clothes off in...[his] bedroom."
Hernandez' original story was that the baby's father was a 29 year old man from Laredo. But the former Fort Worth probation officer's story fell apart when the 16-year boy's mother realized the truth.
For a time the youth had hinted at being a father. His mother initially dismissed the idea until she discovered the baby's picture in her son's wallet.
"It had a name and a date on there," she said. "We didn't know anyone named Hernandez, and so I put two and two together and thought, `Oh my God.'"
According to his mother, the boy had also "bragged about being a father and getting a fake birth certificate to make it appear he is now 18 instead of 17."
After the mother contacted Hernandez' supervisor with her concerns, a search of Hernandez' office turned up altered birth certificates that appeared to confirm the boy's story.
Ultimately, Hernandez was required to submit to DNA tests which confirmed the boy's paternity.
Hernandez turned herself in after a warrant was issued for her arrest. She is charged with sexual assault of a child under 17 and is free on $7,500 bond. If convicted the ex-probation officer could be sentenced to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Source: Dallas Morning News
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