Photo: Franklin County Jail
A 27-year-old Ohio man has been charged with raping a ten-year-old girl. The alleged rape made international headlines after reports surfaced that the girl had to travel from Ohio to Indiana to have an abortion because the procedure became illegal in Ohio after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Prosecutors said that the young girl was raped in mid-May and identified Gerson Fuentes as the suspect. He reportedly confessed to raping the child on at least two occasions when he was brought in for a saliva test. Officials said the girl recently celebrated her tenth birthday and may have been nine years old when she was impregnated.
Fuentes was arraigned on felony rape charges and ordered held on a $2 million bond.
Officials are awaiting the results of the DNA test to confirm that Fuentes was the father.
While there were some questions about the accuracy of the initial story, Detective Jeffrey Huhn confirmed the details during Fuentes' arraignment and said that the girl did travel to Indianapolis on June 30 for a medical abortion.
The case, which was first reported by the Indianapolis Star, was referenced by President Joe Biden after he signed an executive order on abortion access.
"Imagine being that little girl," he said. "Just imagine being that little girl. Ten years old."