Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, while acknowledging he has not been able to confirm news reports quoted by President Joe Biden about a pregnant 10-year-old rape victim who reportedly had to travel out of state to have an abortion, told Newsmax on Wednesday that there has been an arrest in a case that matches the story.
However, the Republican official told Newsmax's "John Bachman Now" that the more important issue seems to be that people, including Biden, seem more outraged that the pre-teen may have had to travel rather than the fact that she was raped.
"Everyone is more interested in a car trip that, by the way, wasn't even required under Ohio law," Yost said. "They're more worried about that than the fact that this 10-year-old was raped. President Biden was right about one thing. That's horrific. That ought to be our concern."
The Washington Post's Glenn Kessler wrote Sunday that the story about the girl was based on the word of just one source, and that he hit a brick wall when trying to fact-check the story. But Wednesday, The Columbus Dispatch reported that Gershon Fuentes, 27, was arrested and charged with raping and impregnating the girl, whose trip to Indiana for an abortion led to international attention.
The man was arrested on Tuesday, with police saying he confessed to raping the girl on at least two occasions. The police had been made aware of the girl's pregnancy through a mandatory report by Franklin County Children Services made by her mother on June 22, according to Detective Jeffrey Huhn, who testified Wednesday morning while Fuentes was being arraigned.
The girl had her abortion in Indianapolis on June 30, Huhn testified. He further testified that the DNA from the clinic is being tested against samples from Fuentes to confirm he'd impregnated the girl.
Yost, meanwhile, said on Newsmax that he'd heard about the arrest through a text message just before the interview and that he's "delighted that the rapist has been apprehended."
"My office stands ready to assist in any way possible," he said. "If convicted, the guy should spend the rest of his life in prison."
Meanwhile, Yost said he has not spoken with the young girl's doctor, but under Ohio law, she would likely not have had to send her to Indiana for the abortion.
"In particular, the law provides not only for the health of the mother but if there is a substantial likelihood of impairment of bodily function," said Yost. "If a 10-year-old would carry to term, she would likely be sterile for the rest of her life."
But to determine if she would have met the legal test for an abortion, the courts must have facts, but the courts didn't have them at the time, said Yost.
Meanwhile, Assistant Franklin County Prosecutor Dan Meyer in Ohio has requested Fuentes be held without bond and said he believes the man is not believed to be in the United States legally. Huhn said detectives spoke to him through an interpreter and he admitted to having sexual contact with the girl.
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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