A woman who got pregnant after being raped is facing 20 years in jail charged with attempted murder after she gave birth to her abuser’s baby in a latrine in El Salvador.

Imelda Cortez, 20, from San Miguel, has been in custody since April 2017 after giving birth to a baby girl fathered by her abusive elderly stepfather.

Cortez had been abused by her 70-year-old stepfather since she was 12 years old. She got pregnant but claims she had no idea she was pregnant.

Her mother found her one day bleeding heavily and in severe pain and she was rushed to hospital.

The emergency room doctor suspected an abortion and called the police. When officers arrived they found the baby healthy and alive.

But due to the country's rigid abortion laws, Cortez was charged with attempted murder, denied bail and sent to jail after a week in hospital.