BOGOTA, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- Colombian authorities accused a mother of 14 with pimping a dozen of her young "virgin" daughters to older men.
Margarita de Jesus Zapata Moreno, 45, was arrested by Bogota police for allegedly forcing her children to have sex with adult men after they turned 12 years old.
Zapata denied the allegations during an appearance Wednesday before a group of reporters, CNN said.
Police learned of the alleged prostitution when one of the girls came forward and told investigators she had become pregnant by one of her alleged male customers when she was 14 and had defied her mother's demand that she get an abortion.
"She was a minor and she still had the courage to report the abuse and also to refuse to have an abortion," Police Col. Carlos Melendez told reporters. "That's when this investigation started, from the threats of her own mother."
