The baby boy was found last month and survived. He's in state care.
The Harris County District Attorney's Office and Child Protective Services are using the teenage mom's arrest to send some strong messages to anyone thinking of abandoning a baby.
The 16-year-old mom of the rescued child was in court Friday morning, facing a judge hours after her arrest on charges of abandoning her newborn in a dumpster last week.
"The message from this case is that it could have been so much worse. It is truly a miracle that this little baby did not die," Harris County DA Devon Anderson said.
Anderson and staff from CPS held a new conference about the teen mom's alleged actions that led up to the second-degree felony charges the girl's now facing.
Investigators say hours after giving birth last week, the girl threw her baby in a dumpster at her complex.
A maintenance man who heard the crying child found Baby Carlos cinched in a trash bag, with the umbilical cord still attached.
"We do not want to see another baby dumped in this way," Anderson said.
Neither the teen's relative nor family attorney would comment about the case after a judge decided Baby Carlos remain in temporary state custody.
The DA's office and CPS are now using the teen's case to remind the public of the baby Moses Law, which allows parents to legally leave unharmed babies at a safe location like fire and police stations, or hospitals, without facing prosecution.
As for the future of this accused teen mom...
"The DA's office will not be seeking probation for this type of case. We believe that if you abandon a baby in this manner, where you have no intent to return for the baby, you have no regard for the safety of this baby, we will be seeking incarceration. Make no mistake about that," Anderson said.
If found guilty on the felony charge, the 16-year-old faces probation or could be held in custody up to her 18th birthday.
The baby's father is believed to be a 22-year-old man. No word yet if he faces any charges.
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