She won’t be the last they try to deny exists
There have been a number of very “savvy” takes that say the story of the 10 year old Ohio rape victim having to travel for an abortion because she was 6 weeks and 3 days pregnant is made up. Glen Kessler, the fact-checker at the Washington Post called around Ohio and couldn’t get anyone to confirm it — in a state where abortion is now illegal even for rape victims and nobody knows who’s going to be prosecuted. Imagine that. At the Bulwark, Cathy Young came to the same conclusion. You don’t even want to know what they’ve been saying on Fox.
Well, it’s true:
A Columbus man has been charged with impregnating a 10-year-old Ohio girl, whose travel to Indiana to seek an abortion led to international attention following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade and activation of Ohio’s abortion law.
Gershon Fuentes, 27, whose last known address was an apartment on Columbus’ Northwest Side, was arrested Tuesday after police say he confessed to raping the child on at least two occasions. He’s since been charged with rape, a felony of the first degree in Ohio.
Columbus police were made aware of the girl’s pregnancy through a referral by Franklin County Children Services that was made by her mother on June 22, Det. Jeffrey Huhn testified Wednesday morning at Fuentes’ arraignment. On June 30, the girl underwent a medical abortion in Indianapolis, Huhn said.
Huhn also testified that DNA from the clinic in Indianapolis is being tested against samples from Fuentes, as well as the child’s siblings, to confirm his paternity.
Franklin County Municipal Court Judge Cynthia Ebner said the case did not warrant Fuentes — who is believed to be undocumented — to be held without bond.
Ebner said a high bond was necessary, however, due to Fuentes being a possible flight risk and for the safety of the child involved. Before being arrested, Huhn and Det. David Phillips collected a saliva sample from Fuentes, according to a probable cause statement.
Ebner set a $2 million bond for Fuentes, who is being held in the Franklin County jail.
The criminal charges and testimony from the Columbus detective confirms the disturbing story that has become a key flash point in the national furor over the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
The Indianapolis Star, a Gannett sister paper of The Dispatch, first reported earlier this month that a 10-year-old rape victim traveled from Ohio to Indiana for abortion services after most abortions became illegal in her home state. The account was attributed to Dr. Caitlin Bernard, an Indianapolis physician who provides abortion services.
The story quickly went viral, appearing in outlets across the globe, and became a top talking point for abortion rights supporters, including President Joe Biden.
“Imagine being that little girl,” Biden said Friday as he decried the high court’s decision. “I’m serious. Just imagine being that little girl.”
But in recent days, some abortion opponents and news outlets criticized the story as unproven.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost also questioned the validity of the account during an appearance on Fox News this week.
Yost, a Republican, told Fox News host Jesse Watters that his office had not heard “a whisper” of a report being filed for the 10-year-old victim.
“We have regular contact with prosecutors and local police and sheriffs — not a whisper anywhere,” Yost said on the show.
Yost doubled down on that in an interview with the USA TODAY Network Ohio bureau on Tuesday, saying that the more time passed before confirmation made it “more likely that this is a fabrication.”
“I know the cops and prosecutors in this state,” Yost said. “There’s not one of them that wouldn’t be turning over every rock, looking for this guy and they would have charged him. They wouldn’t leave him loose on the streets … I’m not saying it could not have happened. What I’m saying to you is there is not a damn scintilla of evidence. And shame on the Indianapolis paper that ran this thing on a single source who has an obvious axe to grind.”
On Wednesday, once news of the arraignment came, Yost issued a single sentence statement:
“We rejoice anytime a child rapist is taken off the streets.”
No apology and no explanation as to why he assumed they were lying and obviously didn’t bother to look any further because he clearly doesn’t give a damn about what this poor little girl went through. In fact, if he’s like most Republicans he probably thinks she was slut who should be forced to go through childbirth.
This won’t be the last time they insist that the stories of pain, heartache and death they are causing with this cruel anti-abortion policy are lies. It’s going to be yet another example of Real vs Bizarroworld and too many in the mainstream media are likely to back their strategy.