OAN’s Geraldyn Berry
6:24 PM – Wednesday, July 5, 2023
A man who confessed to raping and impregnating a 10-year-old Ohio girl has been sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday.
In an indictment that was released in Franklin County, Ohio, last year, Gerson Fuentes, 28, was charged with two felonies for rape. In an interview with police, Fuentes, a Guatemalan citizen, confessed to raping the youngster, according to paperwork submitted to Franklin County Municipal Court.
The girl was nine-years-old at the time of the rape, according to the prosecution, with Fuentes being the child’s mother’s live-in lover. After testing positive on a pregnancy test, the girl confirmed that Fuentes had attacked and further DNA testing of the aborted fetus confirming that Fuentes was the father.
After Roe v. Wade was rejected by the Supreme Court, Ohio enacted a new law prohibiting abortions at the first audible “fetal heartbeat,” which prevented the girl from having the procedure.
A child abuse doctor in Ohio called the girl’s doctor, Dr. Caitlin Bernard, to make arrangements for the treatment in Indiana, she told an Indianapolis Star reporter. For discussing the surgery and breaking medical privacy rules, Attorney General Todd Rokita filed a lawsuit against the physician.
As part of Fuentes’ plea agreement, he can apply for parole after spending 25 to 30 years and will have to register as a Tier 3 sex offender.
The relatives of the victim had “begged” Common Pleas Court Judge Julie Lynch, who was not compelled to approve the plea arrangement, to support it. “For this court to swallow,” said Lynch of the agreement.
“Anyone who’s ever been in this courtroom for the last 20 years knows how this court feels about these babies, young people, being violated,” Lynch said. “However, today, by the request of the family, this court will be sentencing without comment.”
Fuentes has been detained without bond since his arrest. It is theorized that he would probably be deported if he receives parole since authorities share that they have not discovered any proof that he is authorized to live in the United States legally.
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