Costa Rican police say they have arrested a man in connection with the rape of a nine-year-old Nicaraguan girl.

She was allegedly raped while working on a coffee plantation in Costa Rica.

I don't want to share my toys with other children Rape victim

The girl is believed to now be about four months pregnant and her parents have asked the Nicaraguan Government to allow their daughter to have an abortion.

Abortion is illegal in Nicaragua but can be permitted under certain circumstances, including if the life of the mother is in danger.

Doctors say it is possible the girl can carry the child to full term and give birth, although the pregnancy is considered high-risk.

The 20-year-old suspect, an agricultural worker, was detained in Turrialba, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) south-east of the Costa Rican apital, San Jose, police said.

He has denied the charges.

Decision due

The girl returned to Nicaragua last week, the Associated Press reported.

"We want this intervention as soon as possible, for her health and well-being," the girl's father told local television stations.

Also interviewed by local media, the girl said she did not want to have a baby.

"I don't want to share my toys with other children," she said.

The Nicaraguan health ministry was due to rule on Tuesday whether the girl could be allowed to have an abortion.