An Ohio man has been charged with raping a 10-year-old woman who traveled to Indiana to get an abortion—after outstanding Republicans and conservatives solid doubt on whether or not the case even existed.
On July 1, The Indianapolis Star quoted Dr. Caitlin Bernard, an obstetrician-gynecologist in Indianapolis, as saying that an abortion had been offered for the woman as a result of she was “six weeks and three days pregnant” and could not get the process in Ohio below a newly imposed state ban on abortions on the first detectable “fetal heartbeat.”
The case drew worldwide consideration after it was highlighted by President Joe Biden final week through the signing of an govt order aimed about defending entry to abortion as Republican-led states, together with Ohio, have enacted near-total bans after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in a bombshell ruling in June.
Some outstanding Republicans, together with Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, prompt the case was fabricated.
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Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost stated he hadn’t heard “a whisper” from regulation enforcement within the state about any experiences or arrests made in reference to such a case throughout an look on Fox News on Monday.
“Another lie. Anyone surprised?” Jordan wrote in response to Yost’s feedback in a tweet that has since been deleted.
Every week in the past, @DanaBashCNN tried to lure me with a narrative a few 10-year previous woman who obtained an abortion. I identified that no one was asking in regards to the pervert who raped that baby.
Now it seems to be just like the story was pretend to start with. Literal #FakeNews from the liberal media. https://t.co/43Ccz63iPy
— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) July 9, 2022
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem final week accused CNN anchor Dana Bash of making an attempt to “trap me” by asking her in regards to the case. “Now it looks like the story was fake to begin with,” Noem tweeted on July 8. “Literal #FakeNews from the liberal media.”
Ohio Rep. Brian Stewart additionally appeared to dismiss the story, tweeting that he “wouldn’t trust an abortionist to tell me whether the sky is blue.”
On Fox News, hosts Tucker Carlson and Jesse Watters each prompt the story was a hoax.
“So what does it tell us that politicians are lying about this?” Carlson said on his present Tuesday evening.
“Why did the Biden administration, speaking of lying, just repeat a story about a 10-year-old child who got pregnant and they got an abortion or was not allowed to get an abortion when it turns out the story is not true.
“And by the way in which, when a 10-year-old will get pregnant, the primary query will not be how will we do away with the child? The first query is, the place’s the rapist?”
Watters asked why “authorities in Ohio have not even begun a prison investigation into the rape” and asked whether the “mainstream media is … seizing on one other hoax?”
The following day, The Columbus Dispatch reported that Gerson Fuentes confessed to raping the woman on no less than two events and was arrested Tuesday.
A detective testified Wednesday at an preliminary court docket look that Columbus police discovered in regards to the woman’s being pregnant although a referral by Franklin County Children Services that was made by her mom on June 22.
Det. Jeffrey Huhn stated the woman had a medical abortion in Indianapolis on June 30 and that DNA from the Indianapolis abortion clinic was being examined towards samples from the suspect to verify paternity.
Yost issued an announcement on Wednesday saying his “heart aches for the pain suffered by this young child.” He added he was grateful for the diligent work of Columbus Police in “securing a confession and getting a rapist off the street.”
Jordan tweeted that the suspect “should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” Neither addressed their earlier feedback questioning the veracity of the case.
Dinesh D’Souza, a right-wing political commentator who additionally solid doubt on the case, accused the media of concealing the suspect’s identification attributable to his immigration standing.
“Earlier I said I didn’t think the 10-year-old rape victim even existed. I said this because I couldn’t find out anything about the case or the alleged perpetrator,” he tweeted.
“Now we know why! The mainstream media was concealing his identity because he’s an illegal alien.”
Yost, Jordan and the others talked about on this story have been contacted for remark.