A man in Ohio has been accused of raping a 10-year-old girl who had to leave Ohio to have an abortion after her hometown outlawed the procedure.
Gershon Fuentes, 27, appeared in court in Columbus City on Wednesday, 7/13.
The condition of the girl, whose name has not been released, has drawn international attention.
US President Joe Biden referred to the case when criticizing recent restrictions on abortion in the US, but some skeptics have even accused it of being a hoax.
WARNING: This story contains details that some readers may find offensive.
Millions of women and girls in the country have lost their constitutional right to abortion for decades, following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last month.
In a speech denouncing that decision last Friday, President Biden said, “Imagine you’re that little girl!” said.
Hours after the Supreme Court’s decision, Ohio state lawmakers outlawed any abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, with no exceptions, even for victims of rape or incest.
According to the Indianapolis Star, the child in the lawsuit that sparked Biden’s anger was six weeks and three days pregnant.
Referred by a child abuse doctor in Ohio, the girl went to a clinic in Indianapolis, Indiana, to have a medical abortion on June 30.
While efforts are being made to restrict access to abortion in Indiana as well, the procedure remains legal in the state.
After the Supreme Court’s decision, 26 US states have severely restricted abortion or are expected to do so in the coming weeks and months.
The boy is believed to have been nine years old when he was attacked, according to prosecutors. She told the police she was pregnant because of Fuentes, IndyStar reported.
Police said the suspect, who was arrested in a Columbus apartment on Tuesday, admitted to raping the girl, according to Columbus Dispatch. According to local media, a saliva sample was being checked from him.
Fuentes is a Guatemalan citizen and is illegally present in the United States, an Immigration Department source told Fox News.
Franklin County Municipal Court Judge Cynthia Ebner detained Fuentes on $2 million bail, alleging she risked escaping or endangering the child.
If found guilty, he could face a life sentence.
The case was first reported on IndyStar on July 1 with few details. While other media outlets tried to verify the story, prominent conservatives began to question the veracity of the story.
Among the skeptics was Ohio Republican Congressman Jim Jordan, who tweeted Tuesday that the story was “another lie.” The next day, when the news about the court case broke out, Jordan seems to have deleted the tweet.
A new tweet was published, in which the lawmaker demanded that the suspect be tried “with the full force of the law”.
– This text was originally published at https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/internacional-62161813.
source: Noticias
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