Dafne didn't realise she was pregnant until seven months into it and her mother didn't think what had happened to her young daughter was a crime

The nine-year-old girl who gave birth to a baby in Mexico is almost certainly far older - and could be 15 or more, it can be revealed today.

Multiple sources told MailOnline that it was 'highly likely' that Dafne was not the age her mother claimed she was when she went into hospital with her daughter in labour.

Dubious: Authorities will want to know why the girl's mother, who has been accused of being a prostitute, has possibly lied about her daughter's real age

In a press conference last night Antonio Munoz Serrano, the health commissioner for the state of Jarisco, said: 'The medical characteristics of this child do not correspond to those of a nine-year-old girl.

'She could be much older than that, it appears she is more than 15-years-old.'

He added that in the end there could be a 'great responsibility' on Dafne's family for the entire episode and that the damage to the girl could be 'incalcuable'.

The shocking disclosure, if true, raises huge questions as to why Dafne's mother and stepfather could have put her through such an episode which sparked a huge police child abuse investigation.

One explanation is that her mother - who MailOnline is not naming to protect Dafne's privacy - may have been trying to get her into school for the first time as she had not gone until now.

Another more sinister reason could have been if, as has been claimed by neighbours, the mother is a prostitute who is trying to turn Dafne into a sex worker too, a nine-year-old could command a higher fee from clients than a teenager.

Although Dafne has a birth certificate, the circumstances under which it was obtained are unclear.

It only emerged a year and two months ago when she tried to go to school for the first time and was told she needed it.

Neighbours have described Dafne as 'kind and very sweet' and said she looked much older than nine.

A woman who lives next door, in her early 20s, said that Dafne was tall for her age, appeared well developed, with a light complexion and long blonde hair which goes past her shoulders.

Another twist would be that if Dafne's real age is 15 or higher then her boyfriend sleeping with her would not even be a crime.

It is only an offence under Mexican law to sleep with somebody aged 14 or younger.

The birth certificate, issued on November 17, 2011, shows that Dafne was born on Monday March 6 2003, which makes her nine.

She would have been the same age when she fell pregnant.

Doubts: Dafne's birth certificate is under scrutiny as it was only issued in 2011

On the birth certificate the stepfather is also named as the father.

The birth certificate was issued by the town hall in the municipality of Ixtlahuacan De Los Membrillos, where Dafne and her family have been living for six years.

Dr Sergio Ramon Quintero Gonzalez, the district president, told MailOnline that Dafne's mother was not from his area.

He said: 'The first contact we had with this family was when they came in asking for the birth certificate.

'They were interviewed and I only saw them briefly when they came in to be interviewed.

'We issued the document to support the child going to school, but she didn't go to school. We helped them but they didn't do anything with it.

'A lot of people here are concerned this has happened and hoped it would happen somewhere else.'

Disappeared: The stepfather, left, and the mother, right, have not been seen for two days. They are pictured with another relative and his child

Jose Ramirez, media coordinator for the Jarisci prosecutor's office, said: 'We are going back through the archives to try and find out exactly when she was born.

'She is not originally from here so we are having to do a thorough search. The girl will be given a medical examination to see exactly how old she is. It is highly likely that the girl is older than nine years old.'

Mr Ramirez added that as a matter of routine, all of the stepfather's male relatives were being given a DNA test to eliminate them from the investigation and make sure they are not the father.

Preliminary results will come back in 72 hours, although the full tests will not be known for two weeks.

Lina Ginzalez Corona, head spokesman for the Jarisco Prosecutor's office, told MailOnline that so far there had been no arrests and no charges filed. He said: 'The girl is still insisting that it is her boyfriend who got her pregnant. The problem is that we don't know where the guy is so we are looking for him.

Rumours: Neighbours on the street where they live have made various claims about the family - from the stepfather abusing Dafne to the mother working as a prostitute

'When we find him we will see what he really did. This is an active investigation and we are pursuing it.'

He added that if it turns out the boyfriend did make Dafne pregnant and she was under age then he could be jailed for up to seven years.

Dr Quintero Gonzalez added that there were now serious questions over whether or not Dafne's boyfriend - originally believed to be the father of the child - even exists.

He said: 'Dafne's mother said that the boyfriend is from the neighborhood but nobody has heard of him.

'We have no name and nobody knew he was her boyfriend.'

Dafne's neighbours had similar suspicions. One told MailOnline: 'We never saw any boyfriend at their house.'

If it turned out to be her stepfather as some have claimed, he would be tried as an adult and could be put away for between 12 and 20 years.

Dafne's baby was born by C-section on January 27 in Zoquipan Hospital, in Zapopan, Mexico's western Jalisco state weighting 5.95lbs.

Both girls are doing fine and in a healthy condition. According to Dafne's mother the girl was eight at the time she got pregnant but she didn't realize she was expecting until she was seven months gone.

The mother - who can't read or write - supposedly didn't even think that it was a crime that somebody so young having sex could be a criminal offence until she turned up at the hospital.

Well developed: Doctors at the hospital outside Guadalajara have cast doubt on her real age because of her biological characteristics

It now appears the Dafne has not been sterilized as earlier reports suggested but has been surgically fitted with an implant that will stop her getting pregnant.

The device can be removed by a surgeon and in theory she can have another baby.

Dafne's mother has reported the Zoquipan Hospital to the local human rights commission because she claimed she did not approve the procedure.

But in a press conference health commissioner Munoz Serrano said that he had a note in which she gave her written permission.

Dafne, her mother, her stepfather - and her newborn baby girl - left their 7ft by 25ft breeze block home in the run down suburb of Colonial los Olivos in a taxi on Wednesday night hours before police and the local mayor showed up to speak with them.