An Ohio man has been charged with raping a 10-year-old girl who later traveled to neighboring Indiana for an abortion, a case that President Joe Biden highlighted in criticizing a U.S. Supreme Court decision eliminating a nationwide right to abortion.
Gerson Fuentes, 27, who was arrested on Tuesday, appeared in Franklin County, Ohio, municipal court for an arraignment on Wednesday. A police investigator testified at the hearing that Fuentes confessed to raping the girl at least twice.
A court-appointed defense attorney for Fuentes did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In all, 26 U.S. states have either severely restricted abortions in the wake of the ruling or are expected to do so in the coming weeks and months.
Some conservatives had questioned the veracity of the Indianapolis Star story.
Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost told the USA TODAY Network Ohio bureau on Tuesday that the details were "more likely than not a fabrication" because there had been no arrest and no evidence uncovered, Ohio's Columbus Dispatch reported.
The Columbus Dispatch first reported that Gerson Fuentes was arrested after police said he confessed to raping a child on multiple occasions. He has been charged with rape, and the outlet reported that he was possibly in the country illegally.
The source told Fox that Fuentes is a Guatemalan national in the country illegally and that ICE has placed a detainer on Fuentes, which is a request he eventually be handed over to the agency for removal proceedings.
ICE later confirmed to Fox News Digital that Fuentes is in the U.S. unlawfully. The story was eventually echoed by President Biden in a speech last week in announcing measures to protect abortion access in the wake of the recent Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v Wade.
"Ten years old. Raped, six weeks pregnant. Already traumatized. Was forced to travel to another state. Imagine being that little girl," Biden said.
No comments:
Post a Comment