There are few things viler and more sensitive than a criminal investigation involving a child rape victim.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost appeared on Fox News this week, casting doubt on the veracity of Dr. Caitlin Bernard's account that a 10-year-old Ohio rape victim needed to travel to Indiana for an abortion.
Yost, a Republican, doubled down on that in an interview with the USA TODAY Network Ohio bureau on Tuesday.
"Every day that goes by the more likely that this is a fabrication. I know the cops and prosecutors in this state. There's not one of them that wouldn't be turning over every rock, looking for this guy and they would have charged him," he said. "I'm not saying it could not have happened. What I'm saying to you is there is not a damn scintilla of evidence. And shame on the Indianapolis paper that ran this thing on a single source who has an obvious axe to grind.""
After news broke Wednesday of an arrest in the case, Yost issued a single sentence statement: "We rejoice anytime a child rapist is taken off the streets."
Yost is endorsed by the Ohio Right to Life PAC.
(Laura A. Bischoff. “Ohio AG Dave Yost cast doubt on 10-year-old rape victim case, now 'rejoices' at arrest.” The Columbus Dispatch. July 13, 2022.)
Amelia Robinson of the Columbus Dispatch says, “One can only speculate why Yost – armed with clearly inaccurate information – jumped in the mud with political hacks, fame-seeking trolls and Fox "news" fakers casting doubt on a case that has always been in the regime of possibility.”
"We warned legislators that this would happen. Anti-choice legislators proceeded with all of these bans anyway," Kellie Copeland, executive director of Pro-Choice Ohio, said during a recent Dispatch Columbus Conversation Robinson hosted on the future of abortion there. "This is the agenda that they passed and these are the results of that agenda."
(Amelia Robinson. “Shameful Dave Yost jumped in mud to doubt case of 10-year-old who got abortion.” The Columbus Dispatch. July 14, 2022.)
A Columbus Dispatch analysis of Columbus police reports alone found 50 reports of rape or sexual abuse involving girls age 15 years or younger since May 9.
There were another 16 involving boys.
According to the Ohio Department of Health, 52 children under the age of 15 received abortions in Ohio in 2020. That's on top of the 469 people ages 15 to 17 who had abortions.
This is down from the 1,682 abortions provided to Ohio minors in 2010.
Robinson reports …
“Sexual violence is among the attorney general's stated areas of concern.
"'Standing up for victims of human trafficking' and 'solving cold-case homicides and sexual assaults' are among the things touted as major focuses on his biography page on the Ohio Attorney General's Office's official website.
“Yost – a former Columbus Citizen Journal reporter – undoubtedly knows some of the girls who are sexually abused became pregnant and some of those girls have abortions.
“He also must know thousands of Ohio girls are sexually violated each year. Many go unreported …
“There is nothing wrong with questioning the media – it is to be expected – but have your facts right before you do – particularly if you are Ohio's top prosecutor and know intimately how complex and vile child sex abuse cases are.
“Dave Yost should be above backstroking in the sickening layer of mud far too many willingly create.
“You don't have to be a prosecutor or detective to expect as much.”
(Amelia Robinson. “Shameful Dave Yost jumped in mud to doubt case of 10-year-old who got abortion.” The Columbus Dispatch. July 14, 2022.)
Conclusion
As the so-called “heartbeat law” became law in Ohio after Roe v. Wade was overturned, Gerson Fuentes, a 27-year-old from Columbus, was charged with raping the 10-year-old. Police say he confessed to attacking the little girl on at least two occasions.
Police learned of the girl's pregnancy through a referral June 22. She underwent a medical abortion in Indianapolis June 30.
Dave Yost is the Attorney General of Ohio. He should stay informed of such terrible acts of violent crime and defend victims, especially those too young to fight injustice. The issue of abortion is so sensitive, yet Yost took it upon himself to allow his own personal and political views to dictate his intrusive actions. In doing so, he betrayed his office, and, in this case, served to spread falsehoods about the reality of rape and child abuse in the State of Ohio.
Shame on Dave Yost, indeed. In their culture war, the Ohio GOP is passing legislation that oppresses women and obliterates their right to choose. In doing so, Republicans ignore circumstances such as these – despicable, real-life crimes against children.
Ohio outlawed abortion just weeks after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. And, meanwhile, physicians in neighboring Indiana described an influx of out-of-state patients seeking care. Among them: this pregnant 10-year-old.
Dr. Caitlin Bernard, an Indianapolis obstetrician-gynecologist, told the Indianapolis Star that just three days after the federal right to an abortion was reversed she received a call from a colleague, a child abuse doctor in Ohio, who needed her help.
The physician had a pregnant patient – a 10-year-old who got pregnant after getting raped – who could no longer legally undergo the procedure in her home state. The girl was six weeks and three days pregnant when Dr. Bernard was contacted, the Indianapolis Star, reported.
In God's name, what political force demands such an innocent victim must carry that fetus to term? And, where is the concern for the young girl when the state attorney general uses his platform to further his party's beliefs about abortion, raises doubts about the crime, and eventually discovers his grievous error?
Then, he merely issues this statement: "We rejoice anytime a child rapist is taken off the streets”? The response is both hypocritical and a further example of denial of his culpability in spreading sickening, dangerous lies. Fox News, Ohio GOP – this is politics at their worst: compassion is totally lacking and it's full-speed ahead in the continuing efforts to destroy women's rights.
Michael Daly, special correspondent with The Daily Beast, staff writer with New York magazine, and finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 2002, says …
“Neither Yost nor the various right-wing pundits and politicians who joined him in suggesting the crime never happened offered an apology for having further victimized the family of a 10-year-old who had been impregnated while being repeatedly raped. They also expressed no regrets for having questioned the integrity of a dedicated physician who is also known for her work on reproductive health and HIV in Kenya.
“Like Yost, Dr. Caitlin Bernard spoke of her heart. But she is somebody who actually has one.”
(Michael Daley. “Heartless Ohio AG’s Biggest Failure in the 10-Year-Old’s Rape Case.” https://news.yahoo.com/heartless-ohio-ag-biggest-failure-235427052.html?fr=yhssrp_catchall. July 14, 2022.)
Postscript
Still doubt Ohio GOP heartless lies and heinous reactions?
Ohio Republican Representative Jim Jordan was confronted on Thursday after he deleted a tweet in response to a report about a 10-year-old rape victim in Ohio that crossed state lines to receive an abortion.
Shortly after Yost's remarks, Jordan responded on Twitter in a since-deleted tweet that said, "Another lie. Anyone surprised?"
Following the deletion of his tweet, Jordan was confronted by CNN's Manu Raju on Thursday – July 14 – and was asked why he decided to delete it.
"Well, because we learned that this illegal alien did this heinous crime. So we deleted the tweet," Jordan said.
Raju then asked Jordan if he wanted to apologize for the tweet and in response, the Ohio Rep. said, "I never doubted the child. I was responding to a headline…doubting Joe Biden, which is usually a smart thing to do."
As Jordan mentioned in his remarks, Biden previously spoke about the incident involving the 10-year-old, and criticized the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, leaving abortion laws up to states.
(Matthew Impelli. “Jim Jordan Confronted Over 10-Year-Old-Rape-Victim Tweet.” Newsweek. July 14, 2022.)
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