The 11-year-old girl whose tragic suicide was splashed all over the media because she was allegedly bullied about her family potentially being deported by the Trump administration confided in friends that a relative was sexually abusing her.
The mother of Jocelynn Rojo Carranza participated in multiple interviews where she explained, in Spanish, that her daughter killed herself because she was being told by bullies that her family would be deported and she would be left all alone.
“The kids said because your family is Hispanic, that they were going to call ICE so her parents could be taken away and she would be left alone,” Marbella Carranza told Univision.
The Gainesville Independent School District confirmed that the girl was the target of bullies, at least one of whom was disciplined for their behavior. The district has not released details about what happened or what was said.
Carranza was found unresponsive at her home in Gainesville, Texas, on February 3 and she died in the hospital five days later.
TRIGGER WARNING: Jocelynn Rojo Carranza was only 11 years old when she took her own life after being bullied about her family’s immigration status. https://t.co/cfHL9jFEHa pic.twitter.com/Sqyg4ZsvN9
— Cristina Jiménez (she/ella) (@CrisAlexJimenez) February 21, 2025
The story of the child’s death went viral globally as people used it to push for open-borders policies.
However, much of the media appears to have completely glossed over or ignored the detail about sexual abuse that Carranza’s friends have shared.
The Daily Mail reports:
But now it has emerged that the district’s ‘summary of findings’ also recorded that Jocelynn told friends she was ‘inappropriately touched by a family member’.
Investigators interviewed numerous students and multiple students said she told them about the alleged molestation, but swore them to secrecy.
GISD said it was required by law to inform Child Protective Services about the claims, as there were four other children living in the home.
The mother has denied there was any abuse, telling NBC News, “I don’t know why they committed, like, why he said that, because I talk with my daughter about that, always. I ask. Nobody can touch your body. Nobody.”
The local NBC report adds:
After her death, the district said it learned Carranza shared thoughts of self-harm with a cousin, who allegedly told Carranza’s mother, but that information was never shared with the district, which would have provided resources and intervention.
The district said in a one-on-one meeting with a school counselor in October, Carranza shared concerns about getting into trouble at home and that her siblings called her names, but that she never said anything about being bullied at that time.
It is unclear if law enforcement is actively investigating the claims of sexual abuse.
