Police Arrest Man Who Raped and Impregnated 10-Year-Old Ohio Girl

Police arrested a 27-year-old man from Ohio for sexual assault of a ten-year-old girl who traveled from Ohio to Indiana for an abortion, a case that drew international attention following the Roe v. Wade reversal by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Gershon Fuentes confessed to raping the child twice per the documents filed in Franklin County, Ohio Municipal Court. The document revealed that Fuentes was charged with the rape of a minor. He is now facing a life sentence and deportation. He has a $2 million bond, and an initial hearing is scheduled next week, NBC News reports.

Raping a minor

The prosecutor said the Guatemalan immigrant admitted to raping the child at least twice through an interpreter.

According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Fuentes is in the country illegally. ICE has requested to detain Fuentes for removal proceedings, Detective Jeffrey Huhn said at Fuentes' arraignment on Wednesday.

The ten-year-old victim's case sparked public outrage after being denied an abortion, and her alleged rapist walked free for weeks.

Franklin County Children raised the horror pregnancy case to the attention of the Columbus police after the girl's mother complained to them.

As per Forbes, the girl was six weeks pregnant when she sought an abortion in Indiana on June 30.

Detectives from Columbus testified that DNA samples from the clinic where the girl went an abortion is being tested against Fuentes' DNA to confirm his paternity.

The girl's case was made public after a physician in Indiana was asked if she could take the patient.

Ohio bans abortion after a fetal cardiac activity is detected, usually about six weeks into pregnancy.

Meanwhile, Indiana legislators are preparing for a special session about the abortion ban this month.

The horror pregnancy that went viral

The horror pregnancy story went viral worldwide, eventually getting President Joe Biden's attention. However, various media personalities, high-ranking officials, and social media commenters asked if the story was real, as per Snopes.com.

One of the officials critical of the rape story was Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, who earlier told Fox News that he had not heard a whisper of evidence in the case despite constant contact with local authorities. He also told USA Today that the story about the 10-year-old girl was likely a fabrication, and there was no "a scintilla of evidence" that the incident was true.

After Fuentes's arrest, the police confirmed the case's veracity. Yost then commented on Columbus Dispatch that they rejoice anytime a "child rapist is taken off the streets." He also posted on his Twitter that his heart ached for the girl's suffering and expressed his gratitude to the Columbus police for securing a confession and taking a rapist off the streets.