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BURKE COUNTY, N.C. — A Morganton man pleaded guilty Monday to the statutory rape of a 14-year-old girl who became pregnant, WBTV reports.

Pasqual Mendez, 24, will spend the next 12 to 19 years at the NC Division of Adult Corrections.

Officers came to a Morganton home after a report of an assault in May 2016. A victim found crying in the backyard told officers Mendez hit her and shoved her down because she did not fix him dinner.

“Mendez alleged the two were married and told officers he had purchased the 14-year-old girl from Guatemala six months earlier,” court documents obtained by WBTV say.

The girl said her mom and Mendez arranged the relationship and she met him for the first time when she arrived at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

Court documents said the girl’s life consisted of cooking and cleaning for Mendez and being forced into sexual activity with him daily. She said she did not want the sex acts to take place and tried to push him away.

A medical examination revealed the teen was pregnant.

Mendez will be required to register as a sex offender for 30 years.

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