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Ohio AG Dave Yost says 'monster' who allegedly raped 10-year-old should spend life in prison, if convicted

Yost said the focus of the story should be on the "rape of an innocent child," not on the abortion

July 13, 2022 7:12pm

Updated: July 14, 2022 10:11am

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost told "Just the News, Not Noise" that the "monster" who allegedly raped and impregnated a 10-year-old girl should "spend the rest of his life in prison," if he is convicted. 

Illegal Guatemalan migrant Gerson Fuentes, 27, was charged on Wednesday in connection to the rape. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed to Fox News that Fuentes is not a legal resident of the United States.

Politicians and activists, including President Joe Biden, used the case of the 10-year-old girl who reportedly had to travel from Ohio to Indiana to obtain a possibly life-saving abortion when she was 6-weeks pregnant.

The fact that the news is focusing on the abortion part of the story, not the horrific child abuse "fits in with a narrative with a number of folks in the media," Yost said.

"The tragedy here, the main story, is the rape of a 10-year-old. It happens, and even less often, there is a pregnancy that results. But the horror of this thing, and the societal implication, is this rape of an innocent child," he stressed.

In a statement after Fuentes' arrest, Yost thanked the Columbus Police Department and said, "[m]y heart aches for the pain suffered by this young child."

Most criminal DNA testing goes through his office, but there are a few other places that do it, he noted, explaining why he was originally unable to find DNA evidence supporting a case matching the claim.

Yost retweeted a report from George Washington Law Professor Jonathan Turley, who said that Ohio law would have allowed the child to obtain an abortion in this case.

ICE has requested Fuentes enter their custody to undergo removal proceedings, an ICE source told Fox.

"My interest is in seeing this monster taken off the street, and if convicted, to spend the rest of his life in prison where he belongs," Yost said.

The Indianapolis Star first ran the story about the rape based on one source, abortionist Dr. Caitlin Bernard.

"I'm really concerned about the lack of vetting by the Indianapolis Star, which ran with a one source story who had an axe to grind. I mean, she she [sic] is an abortionist, and has been politically active in that cause. And I'm concerned that the president of the United States, or at least the guy that writes his teleprompter, would just take that story and run with it without any further vetting," Yost said.