Rape charged in abortion case of girl, 10

A 27-year-old man was arraigned on Wednesday on charges of twice raping a 10-year-old girl whose case drew international attention following a news report that the child had to travel to Indiana for an abortion because of new restrictions in her home state of Ohio after the US Supreme Court's ruling overturning a constitutional right to an abortion.

Gerson Fuentes, 27, was arrested on Tuesday according to court filings in Ohio, after he confessed to raping the child, The Columbus Dispatch reported. He was charged with raping a minor, which is punishable by life imprisonment in the Midwestern state. Fuentes is being held in a county jail on a $2 million bond.

Columbus police detective Jeffrey Huhn testified in court that the arrest of Fuentes was made after a referral from Franklin County Children Services, which had been in touch with the girl's mother on June 22－two days before the Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade ruling, the Dispatch reported.

The girl had an abortion at a clinic in Indianapolis, Indiana, on June 30, Huhn said. He also told the court that DNA from the clinic is being tested against samples from Fuentes to confirm his paternity, according to the newspaper.

A statewide ban on abortions in Ohio after the sixth week of pregnancy－before many women are aware they are pregnant－went into effect just hours after the Supreme Court's June 24 ruling that struck down Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that had established a constitutional right to abortion. The law banning abortions past six weeks doesn't have an exception for rape.

The arrest and arraignment came days after Democratic President Joe Biden highlighted a July 1 report by the Indianapolis Star about the child's case.

The report went viral around the world and became a top talking point for abortion rights supporters.

Biden referred to the report on July 8 during remarks he gave when signing an executive order to try to protect abortion rights in response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade decision by the top court.

"Raped, six weeks pregnant. Already traumatized. Was forced to travel to another state. Imagine being that little girl," Biden said.

It also sparked questions about its validity and was questioned by news outlets, with some anti-abortion advocates and Republican officials, including Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, expressing doubts that the 10-year-old's case was true.

Yost said in an interview with the USA Today Network Ohio bureau on Tuesday that each passing day makes the story more likely a "fabrication" and "there is not a damn scintilla of evidence" to suggest the account was true.