The mother of a 10-year-old Ohio girl who was raped and impregnated by an illegal immigrant has denied the charges, despite the suspect admitting to the crime.
The woman, who declined to identify herself, claims her daughter is ‘fine’ after being forced to travel to Indiana to get an abortion.
The procedure was barred in their home state due to the so-called heartbeat bill, which bans abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected.
Gerson Fuentes, 27, of Guatemala, confessed to raping the young girl – however, her mother alleged to a television reporter that ‘everything they’re saying against him is a lie.’
Fuentes was arraigned on Wednesday in Columbus, where he faces a charge of felony first-degree rape of a child under 13. His bail was set at $2 million.
The mother (pictured hiding behind her front door) of a 10-year-old Ohio girl who was raped and impregnated by an illegal immigrant has denied the charges against Gerson Fuentes (not pictured). She claims her daughter is ‘fine’ and Fuentes is the subject of ‘lies’
Telemundo reporter María Vargas-Pion visited the Columbus residence where the 10-year-old rape victim and her mother allegedly live on Wednesday.
A woman claiming to be the girl’s mother hid behind her front door as she defended Fuentes.
‘Did the girl live here as well?’ Vargas-Pion asked.
The woman, speaking in Spanish, replied: ‘Yes, but she’s fine. Everything that they’re saying against him is a lie.’
‘And the child – are you related to her or her mother?’ the reporter probed.
‘She’s my daughter,’ the mother answered.
The woman reportedly said she has not filed charges against Fuentes, even though he was charged with rape after confessing to having ‘vaginal contact’ with the girl on at least two occasions.
The girl recently celebrated her 10th birthday, leaving investigators to suspect she was only nine years old when she was raped and later became pregnant.
Rape suspect Gerson Fuentes, 27, is seen at Wednesday’s arraignment appearing via videolink. He is accused of raping a 10-year-old girl who had to cross state lines for an abortion
Police were made aware of the girl’s pregnancy through a referral by the Franklin County Children Services that had been made by her mother on June 22.
She underwent a medical abortion in Indianapolis on June 30.
Columbus police Detective Jeffrey Huhn, who testified at Fuentes’ arraignment Wednesday, claims the girl named the Guatemalan resident as her attacker and the father of her child.
He also testified that DNA evidence collected from the clinic in Indianapolis will be tested against samples taken from Fuentes, The Columbus Dispatch reported.
Officials are also testing DNA collected from the child’s siblings in an attempt to confirm who fathered the fetus.
The case has been under scrutiny by Ohio officials, specifically Attorney General Dave Yost, since it first made national headlines earlier this month.
The Indianapolis Star, an Indiana-based publication, reported on July 1 that a little girl had to cross state lines to receive an abortion because she was denied one in Ohio.
Yost, during a Fox News interview Monday, claimed there’s no ‘biological evidence’ to the story and he hasn’t heard a ‘whisper anywhere’ about the little girl.
Additionally, an Indiana Department of Health filing obtained by Fox on Thursday, revealed that Indianapolis physician Dr. Caitlin Bernard reported the girl’s alleges rapist was approximately 17 years old.
In court, a detective (not pictured) testified that the victim in the case was forced to travel to Indiana to get an abortion following the Dobbs ruling
Ohio AG Dave Yost Yost had claimed in an interview Monday there’s no ‘biological evidence’ to the story, and that he hasn’t heard a ‘whisper anywhere’ about the little girl
In a statement on Wednesday, Yost quickly took a different tack on the case
The child was six weeks and three days pregnant when she sought an abortion in Indiana, Bernard had told The Indianapolis Star.
She claimed the girl was ineligible by just three days to receive an abortion in her home state because of a newly imposed state ban on abortions at the first detectable ‘fetal heartbeat.’
The ban was enacted shortly after the Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which had guaranteed abortion rights in America. The Ohio heartbeat bill has no exceptions for rape or incest.
According to court records, a report was generated on June 22 with the Columbus Division of Police for the girl’s rape. Roe was overturned two days later on June 24.
On July 6, the victim identified Fuentes to authorities as the person who raped her.
A week later, Fuentes was served a search warrant for a saliva sample and was taken into custody where he confessed to raping the victim multiple times.
Gerson Fuentes, 27, (pictured) was arrested on July 12 and has been charged with one count of rape after police say he confessed to raping the child two different times
Fuentes appeared in court Wednesday and was given a $2 million bond. He’s currently in the Franklin County Jail.
Franklin County Municipal Court Judge Cynthia Ebner said the case didn’t warrant Fuentes – who is believed to be undocumented – to be held without bond, the Columbus Dispatch reported.
But Ebner said a higher bond was necessary due to Fuentes being a possible flight risk and for the safety of children involved.
Yost, skeptical of the case, told Fox on Monday: ‘My office runs the state crime lab. Any case like this, you’re going to have a rape kit, you’re going to have biological evidence, and you’d be looking for DNA analysis.
‘There is no case request for analysis that looks anything like this,’ he added.
The AG also noted that ‘Ohio’s heartbeat law has a medical exception, which is broader than just the life of the mother.’
‘This young girl, if she exists and if this horrible thing actually happened to her – it breaks my heart to think about it – she did not have to leave Ohio to find treatment,’ he explained.
Following the news of Fuentes’ arrest, the AG’s office released a statement, reading in part: ‘My heart aches for the pain suffered by this young child.
‘I am grateful for the diligent work of the Columbus Police Department in securing a confession and getting a rapist off the street.
‘Justice must be served and BCI stands ready to support law enforcement across Ohio putting these criminals behind bars.’
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita (left) says an investigation has been launched into Dr. Caitlin Bernard (right). She performed an abortion on the unidentified 10-year-old rape victim whose story made headlines when she was forced to travel from her home state to Indiana
Ohio is one of the many states set to impose laws, which would cap abortions at six weeks. Also in the state of Ohio, doctors are mandated to report abuse of minors
Meanwhile, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita has vowed to probe Dr. Bernard over the abortion, claiming he questioned whether she had complied the Hoosier State’s law requiring that all abortions be reported to authorities.
Appearing on Fox News Wednesday Rokita called obstetrician-gynecologist Bernard an ‘abortion activist acting as a doctor’ who he claims has a history of failing to report abortions.
‘We’re gathering the evidence as we speak, and we’re going to fight this to the end, including looking at her licensure if she failed to report. And in Indiana it’s a crime … to intentionally not report,’ AG Rokita said on Fox News on Wednesday.
‘This is a child, and there’s a strong public interest in understanding if someone under the age of 16 or under the age of 18 or really any woman is having abortion in our state. And then if a child is being sexually abused, of course parents need to know. Authorities need to know. Public policy experts need to know.’
Dr. Bernard has not yet responded to the AG’s remarks, but tweeted earlier Wednesday:
‘My heart breaks for all survivors of sexual assault and abuse. I am so sad that our country is failing them when they need us most. Doctors must be able to give people the medical care they need, when and where they need it.’
