Ohio Man Gets Life Sentence for Raping Girl Who Drew National Attention Over Getting Legal Abortion

According to court documents, a man was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday after pleading guilty to rape.

He was accused of impregnating an Ohio girl, who then traveled to Indiana for an abortion in a case that became a touchstone in post-Roe v. Wade debates on abortion rights.

Ohio Man Receives Life Sentence Over Rape of 10-Year-Old Girl

Gerson Fuentes, 28, pleaded guilty to two counts of rape on Wednesday and was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 to 30 years, according to court documents from Franklin County, Ohio.

According to a court indictment, the girl was 9 when she was raped and 10 when her pregnancy was terminated last summer. Fuentes confessed through an interpreter during a police interview in July that he had assaulted the girl at least twice, according to authorities, but later pleaded not guilty to felony rape of a minor.

The scheduled trial for this year has been avoided by the plea on Wednesday. During Wednesday's judicial hearing, which was covered by WSYX, Fuentes remained silent.

Judge Julie Lynch stated that prosecutors and defense attorneys recommended the sentence in a plea agreement. According to CNN, Lynch stated that accepting the recommended sentence was "a bitter medicine" for the court to digest.

In last summer, an Indianapolis doctor revealed to the Indianapolis Star that she had just performed an abortion on a 10-year-old Ohio girl, attracting international attention. The disclosure of why the girl went to Indiana for the service - days after the Supreme Court of the United States overturned Roe v. Wade and terminated the federal right to abortion - thrust that doctor into the national debate over abortion rights in the country.

Dr. Caitlin Bernard told CNN last year that she performed an abortion on the child in late June 2022 and that the girl traveled to Indiana for the procedure because, following the Roe v. Wade decision, Ohio generally prohibits abortions after early cardiac activity is detected, which is around six weeks into a pregnancy. Bernard stated that the girl was six weeks and three days into her pregnancy.

US Abortion Legalization Issue

At the time of the procedure, abortions were permitted up to 20 weeks after fertilization in Indiana. The state then enacted a law prohibiting abortion at all stages of pregnancy, with limited exceptions for rape or incest, saving the woman's life, preventing any severe health danger to the woman, and fatal fetal abnormalities.

Nonetheless, the law was temporarily halted pending court battles. In May, Bernard was reprimanded and fined by Indiana's medical licensing board for violating federal and state patient privacy laws.

Per The Independent, Fuentes was given a life sentence, but as part of his plea agreement, he will be eligible for probation after serving 25 to 30 years. He must also register as a sexual offender.

The girl, who turned 10 prior to the abortion, verified that Fuentes assaulted her, Fuentes confessed to Columbus police detectives, and DNA testing confirmed that Fuentes was the father, according to Franklin County prosecutors.

Additionally, they noted that they were unable to locate evidence that Fuentes was in the country legally. Since his arrest, Fuentes, a Guatemalan resident of Columbus, has been held without parole. If he is granted parole, he will likely be deported.