In a case that made national headlines, an Ohio man who raped his girlfriend's young daughter and forced the 10-year-old to seek an abortion in Indiana was given a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 25 years.
According to NBC, 28-year-old Guatemalan national Gerson Fuentes admitted to two counts of raping a minor on Wednesday and received an immediate sentence as part of a plea agreement. When Fuentes sexually assaulted the girl last year, she was 9 years old. Her pregnancy test was positive when she visited the doctor in late June of last year, complaining of symptoms such as fatigue.
The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade within days of the girl's visit to her doctor, and an Ohio "heartbeat" law prohibiting abortions after six weeks went into effect with no exceptions for rape or incest. The girl, who was 10 years old and slightly more than six weeks pregnant at the time, traveled to Indiana for an abortion, though some conservatives reportedly questioned whether she even existed after the case made headlines and there was a backlash from pro-abortion activists, according to the New York Times.
Initial comments from Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost described the case as "likely fabricated." After Fuentes was arrested, Yost said his "heart aches for the pain suffered by this young child."
According to Assistant Franklin County Prosecutor Daniel Lener, the "product of conception" was tested for DNA after the girl had an abortion, and Fuentes confessed after authorities collected DNA samples from everyone in the girl's home, according to the Columbus Dispatch.
He will be required to register as a sex offender upon release from prison and may be subject to deportation. The Dispatch notes that the Ohio law that prevented the girl from having an abortion in the state was only in place for 82 days before a judge put the restrictions on hold.
According to NBC, 28-year-old Guatemalan national Gerson Fuentes admitted to two counts of raping a minor on Wednesday and received an immediate sentence as part of a plea agreement. When Fuentes sexually assaulted the girl last year, she was 9 years old. Her pregnancy test was positive when she visited the doctor in late June of last year, complaining of symptoms such as fatigue.
The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade within days of the girl's visit to her doctor, and an Ohio "heartbeat" law prohibiting abortions after six weeks went into effect with no exceptions for rape or incest. The girl, who was 10 years old and slightly more than six weeks pregnant at the time, traveled to Indiana for an abortion, though some conservatives reportedly questioned whether she even existed after the case made headlines and there was a backlash from pro-abortion activists, according to the New York Times.
Initial comments from Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost described the case as "likely fabricated." After Fuentes was arrested, Yost said his "heart aches for the pain suffered by this young child."
According to Assistant Franklin County Prosecutor Daniel Lener, the "product of conception" was tested for DNA after the girl had an abortion, and Fuentes confessed after authorities collected DNA samples from everyone in the girl's home, according to the Columbus Dispatch.
He will be required to register as a sex offender upon release from prison and may be subject to deportation. The Dispatch notes that the Ohio law that prevented the girl from having an abortion in the state was only in place for 82 days before a judge put the restrictions on hold.
