BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP/WFLA) — A south Florida woman, who left her newborn daughter in a dumpster in 2019, pleaded guilty to attempted murder and child abuse in exchange for a seven-year prison sentence and potential deportation.
NBC Miami reported Rafaelle Sousa will get credit for three years she’s already served and then will spend five more years on probation.
Sousa reportedly admitted to placing the baby in bag and tossing it into the dumpster at a Boca Raton apartment complex on May 8, 2019. Her lawyer argued she didn’t know she was pregnant until she went into labor, and thought the newborn was dead.
Maintenance workers at her apartment complex heard the baby’s faint cries and rescued her.
According to NBC Miami, the baby still had the umbilical cord attached when she was found. A Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office lieutenant told the news station the baby is “cute as a button.”
The baby was taken in by Sousa’s boyfriend, who is also the baby’s father. He named her Sarah.
An AP reported contributed to this story.
