Warning: This article contains discussion of child abuse which some readers may find distressing.
A five-year-old who became the youngest confirmed mother in history when she gave birth to a baby boy sadly went on to live a tragic life.
Lina Medina was living in a remote Peruvian village with her parents in 1939 when they noticed the young girl’s belly had started to swell.
Considering Lina had only been alive for five years herself, her parents initially feared the swelling could be the result of a tumor, and rushed her to see a doctor, Dr Gérado Lozada, in Lima.
Lina was just five years old when she was found to be pregnant (Wikimedia Commons)
Much to her parents’ shock, the doctor revealed that Lina was actually seven months pregnant.
On May 14, 1939, the little girl gave birth via C-section to a healthy baby boy, officially making her the youngest mother in the world at five years, seven months, and 21 days old.
The baby boy was named Gerado, in honor of the doctor who took care of Lina’s extremely unusual situation.
Naturally Lina’s case garnered a lot of attention, but the family shied away from the spotlight and Lina shared no details on who the father of the baby could be.
Lina went on to marry a man named Raul Jurado, and she had another son in 1972. However, her life took a tragic turn just years later when her firstborn son passed away from bone disease in 1979.
Speaking when Lina was 68 years old, Raul told Telegraph India Lina was living in a ‘cramped house in a poor, crime-ridden district’ in Peru.
There is still a lot of mystery surrounding the case, but medics have been able to offer insight as to how Lina could have given birth at such a young age.
Lina went on to have another son when she was older (Wikimedia Commons)
After looking into Lina’s case, it was determined that Lina had a rare condition called precocious puberty – a disorder which sees a child experience puberty at an abnormally young age.
Lina was said to have started her periods years before giving birth, with her mother saying she was menstruating by the time she was three years old.
The rare condition also meant Lina had developed adult sexual organs as a toddler, which made her physically able to conceive a child despite only being a little girl herself.
Sadly, this condition resulted in Lina becoming pregnant after she was assaulted.
Initially, authorities believed Lina’s tragic case was a result of incest and their suspicions turned to her father, Tilburelo, who was arrested and charged with sexual assault. However, the man was subsequently released over a lack of evidence.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues or want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, the Childhelp USA National Child Abuse Hotline (1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453) operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and receives calls from throughout the United States, Canada, US Virgin Islands, Guam and Puerto Rico.
She’s next set to star alongside Miranda Cosgrove in the Netflix movie Mother of the Bride, which is set to be released next month, but before all of that she appeared in a number of titles when she was just a child.
Shields was only around 10 years old when she began landing acting roles, and in 1978 she appeared in the drama movie Pretty Baby as Violet, an abused child forced into sex work.
During the movie, Shields had her first kiss in a scene with her co-star – who was 29 years old at the time.
Just a few years later, when she was 14 years old, Shields starred in the movie Blue Lagoon; a film about two cousins who fall in love after being shipwrecked on a beautiful island.
Brooke Shields was just 11 in Pretty Baby. (Paramount Pictures)
Despite barely being a teenager, Shields was forced to be partially nude for most of the film and admitted that it would never ‘be allowed now’.
The actor opened up about her experiences in a Hulu documentary called Brooke Shields: Pretty Baby, which showed how Shields ‘becomes a woman who discovers her power after being a sexualised young girl’.
In the documentary, Shields discussed her complicated relationship with her mother Teri, and spoke about how her mom allowed her to star in the controversial films.
As well as featuring in the intimate scenes, Shields also posed for Playboy when she was still a child.
Brooke Shields has reflected on her career as a child. (Charles Sykes/Bravo via Getty Images)
The actor teared up as she recalled her experiences, telling filmmakers that it felt normal at the time but adding: “I don’t know why she thought it was all right.”
Upon hearing more about Shield’s previous roles, Shield’s own daughter, Rowan, shared her shock at the scenes her mother had appeared in as a child.
“It’s child pornography! Would you have let us [do that] at the age of 11?” she asked Shields, who tearfully replied: “No.”
In an interview with Sydney Morning Herald, Shields spoke about the making of the documentary as she said: “That was hard for me, to not justify my mom to [my kids], but when they asked me, I thought, ‘Oh god, I have to admit this’.
“I mean, I could say, ‘Oh, it was the time back then.’ Or ‘Oh, it was art.’ But I don’t know why she thought it was all right. I don’t know.”
Shields admitted that she was ‘amazed’ that she ‘survived any of it’, but then stated that she ultimately went on to ‘find her voice’.
Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields is available to stream on Disney+.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, contact the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000, 8am–10pm Monday to Friday, 9am–6pm weekends. If you are a child seeking advice and support, call Childline for free on 0800 1111
Featured Image Credit: Hulu / Sonia Moskowitz/IMAGES/Getty Images
Topics: Film and TV, Celebrity, Parenting
A man has revealed how he’s started rebuilding his life again after having his identity stolen for over 35 years.
On April 1, former University of Iowa hospital employee Matthew Keirans, 58, pleaded guilty and was convicted on one count of false statement to a National Credit Union Administration insured institution and one count of aggravated identify theft – he now faces a potential combined sentence of up to 32 years in prison.
However, for the victim of his crimes, 55-year-old William Woods, this conviction marks the next step in what has already been a complicated journey which saw Woods himself suspected, arrested and sectioned.
Matthew David Keirans pleaded guilty to two offences earlier this month (Johnson County Jail)
In 1988, Keirans and Woods both worked at a hot dog cart in Albuquerque, New Mexico when one day, Woods’ wallet went missing and the pair nearly came to blows, but Keirans eventually handed the item back.
At the time, Woods checked to see if anything was missing, but nothing appeared to have been taken – his birth certificate and Social Security card still tucked inside and so he ‘didn’t think anything of it,’ he told The LA Times.
However, from that year on, Keirans didn’t use his name, own Social Security number or date of birth on any records.
He started to use Woods instead – from getting ID cards, opening bank accounts, and even having a child who took on Woods’ surname, too, as per Keirans’ plea agreement.
But when Woods realised someone was using his credit card and had racked up severe debt in his name, he wasn’t believed.
Kierans and Woods met while both working at a hot dog stand (Eduardo Parra/Europa Press via Getty Images)
Instead, the real Woods was charged with two felonies of identity theft and false impersonation himself and his behavior during the trial even led him to be sectioned to two psychiatric hospitals before being convicted.
Woods plead ‘no contest’ and receiving a two year sentence – credited with the prior days he spent in jail in hospital.
In the years which followed, Woods desperately fought to have his voice heard and believed, but it wasn’t until 2023 when Iowa Police Department Detective Ian Mallory confirmed Woods’ true identity with a DNA test.
And the 55-year-old has since opened up about how he’s rebuilding his life.
A DNA test proved the truth (Sazzad Hossain/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Image)
Woods moved back to Albuquerque last year and at the time of writing, is reportedly staying with a friend in their van in El Paso.
He’s argued that he was ‘put in jail on purpose’ as a result of the banker allegedly conspiring with members of the LAPD, however, these claims have not been substantiated.
When asked about Wood’s allegations, an LAPD spokesperson told The Times that an investigation was ongoing and that ‘additional information regarding this case is not currently available’.
UNILAD has contacted the LAPD for additional comment.
Woods also told The Times that he’s not sure what job role he’s going to pursue, resolving: “What’s next for me? I guess I have to regain all my stuff back and just rebuild what I was.”
