Arrest Made In Rape Of Ohio Girl, 10, Amid Firestorm Of Critics, Rumors, Lies
A 27-year-old Columbus man was charged Wednesday with impregnating the girl, who was forced to travel to Indiana for an abortion because of Ohio's six-week ban on the procedure. The story made headlines after President Biden condemned the girl's lack of freedom. Several news outlets and high-profile Republicans then expressed doubt that the girl's story was true. Scroll to our Editorials section to read The Wall Street Journal's retraction and other opinions about the case.
NPR:
A Rape, An Abortion, And A One-Source Story: A Child's Ordeal Becomes News
A July 1 news report that a pregnant ten-year-old girl from Ohio sought an abortion in neighboring Indiana has drawn intense national attention in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling last month striking down Roe v. Wade. Abortion rights proponents — including President Biden — pointed to the incident as evidence of the cruel consequences of the Court's decision. But in the initial absence of any public corroborating details beyond an Indianapolis obstetrician's account, opponents of abortion rights repeatedly cast doubt on whether the incident happened at all. ... The episode illustrates the high stakes of both the new legal landscape on abortion and of reporting in an age of deep political polarization and mistrust of major news outlets. (Folkenflik and McCammon, 7/13)
Columbus Dispatch:
Arrest Made In Rape Of Ohio Girl That Led To Indiana Abortion Drawing International Attention
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. Gerson 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. (Bruner, Trombly and Cook, 7/13)
The Washington Post:
Man Charged In Rape Of 10-Year-Old Girl Who Had To Travel For Abortion
Columbus Police Detective Jeffrey Huhn testified that the arrest was made after a referral from Franklin County Children Services, which had been in touch with the girl’s mother on June 22, according to video of the arraignment from WXIN — two days before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The girl had an abortion at an Indianapolis clinic on June 30, Huhn said. The detective added that Fuentes’s DNA is being tested to confirm that he was the father to the aborted fetus, according to video of the hearing. If convicted, Fuentes could face life in prison. (Bella, 7/13)
Columbus Dispatch:
Ohio AG Dave Yost 'Rejoices' At Child Rape Arrest After Doubting Case
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost appeared on Fox News this week, casting doubt on the veracity of Dr. Caitlin Bernard's account that a 10-year-old Ohio rape victim needed to travel to Indiana for an abortion. Yost, a Republican, doubled down on that in an interview with the USA TODAY Network Ohio bureau on Tuesday. "Every day that goes by the more likely that this is a fabrication. I know the cops and prosecutors in this state. There's not one of them that wouldn't be turning over every rock, looking for this guy and they would have charged him," he said. "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."" After news broke Wednesday of an arrest in the case, Yost issued a single sentence statement: "We rejoice anytime a child rapist is taken off the streets." (Bischoff, 7/13)
The Daily Beast:
Jim Jordan Quietly Deletes Tweet Calling 10-Year-Old’s Abortion A ‘Lie’
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) quietly scrubbed a tweet he posted Tuesday that branded the story of a 10-year-old rape victim who had to travel out of Ohio for an abortion a “lie.” After the alleged perpetrator was arrested Tuesday and appeared in court Wednesday, Jordan deleted the tweet but offered no apology or acknowledgement. Instead, he tweeted that the alleged rapist should be “prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” (Halaly, 7/13)
The Daily Beast:
Fox News Host Jesse Watters Suggested 10-Year-Old Rape Victim’s Abortion Was A ‘Hoax’ Before Arrest
On Monday evening, Fox News host Jesse Watters spent the opening segment of his primetime show suggesting the case of a 10-year-old Ohio girl who was forced to travel to Indiana to get an abortion after she was raped was fabricated to benefit a left-wing agenda. The following night, Tucker Carlson straight-up called her story “not true.” On Wednesday, that girl’s alleged rapist was arrested. (Wilstein, 7/13)
Also —
Politico:
Republican AG Says He'll Investigate Indiana Doctor Who Provided Care To 10-Year-Old Rape Victim
Indiana’s Republican attorney general said on Wednesday that his office planned to investigate the Indiana doctor who helped a 10-year-old rape victim who crossed state lines to have an abortion. Dr. Caitlin Bernard, an obstetrician-gynecologist in Indianapolis, has told multiple outlets that she provided care to the 10-year-old after a child abuse doctor in Ohio contacted her. The child was six weeks and three days into the pregnancy, Bernard said. After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last month, a wave of state-level abortion restrictions took effect, including in Ohio, a state that bans abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, with no exceptions for rape or incest. (Ward, 7/13)
