Townhall has obtained video showing the first court appearance of the 27-year-old rape suspect facing a felony rape charge for the impregnation of a 10-year-old Ohio girl at the center of the viral post-Roe abortion story.
Alleged rapist Gerson Fuentes, who is reportedly an illegal immigrant residing in Columbus, was charged by authorities in Ohio with first-degree felony rape of a child under 13-years-old. Fuentes was arraigned Wednesday morning in Franklin County Municipal Court where he was provided translation services.
Fox News reporter Bill Melugin confirmed via an Immigration and Customs Enforcement source that Fuentes "is a Guatemalan national in the U.S. illegally & ICE has placed a detainer on him with local law enforcement."
Fuentes, charged with first-degree felony rape of a child under 13yo, was arraigned Wednesday morning. He has a preliminary hearing in Franklin County Municipal Court scheduled for July 22. pic.twitter.com/uPwUvtdYgt
— Mia Cathell (@MiaCathell) July 13, 2022
A court reporter sent Townhall the full footage of Fuentes's arraignment from inside the courtroom.
In the 27-minute video, Det. Jeffrey Huhn, who initiated the investigation, testified that Columbus law enforcement was made aware of the girl's pregnancy through a Franklin County Children Services referral made by the child's mother. Huhn said that he was assigned the case on June 22 when a police report was generated per mandated reporting. At the time, the daughter was still pregnant. As of Wednesday, the child is not, Huhn stated, telling the court that the victim sought an out-of-state medical abortion in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The consultation to end the pregnancy took place on June 29, Huhn said, and the procedure happened one day later on June 30. "The products of conception were picked up on the 2nd of July," Huhn testified. Daniel Meyer of the Franklin County Prosector's Office representing the state of Ohio prompted Huhn to clarify what he was referring to, asking "Is that the aborted fetus?" and "Is that currently available for DNA testing?" To which, Huhn answered, "Yes," adding that the remains of the aborted baby have been entered into evidence.
On July 6, detectives contacted the victim's family and obtained DNA samples for paternity testing from the girl's two brothers as well as the girl herself, who "acknowledged that Gerson Fuentes was, indeed, the father of the pregnancy," Huhn recounted. Then on the day of Fuentes's arrest Tuesday, police had issued a search warrant for the defendant's DNA. Fuentes confessed to raping the child on at least two occasions, Huhn said.
"To your knowledge, is Mr. Fuentes in this country legally?" the prosecutor questioned Huhn. The detective replied that he couldn't "find any indication that he was here [inaudible]...legal status."
Local authorities also suspect that Fuentes isn't using his legal name. "I can't verify anything this week. We have no legal documents to ascertain who he may actually be," Huhn continued to testify.
The prosecutor emphasized that the child had just turned the age of 10 and that Fuentes faces a life sentence in prison, if convicted. In response, Judge Cynthia Ebner asserted that the rape case did not warrant Fuentes to be held without bond, which was set at $2 million. "I do not believe that this case rises to the level toward no bond," Ebner declared. The judge conceded, though, that Fuentes is a possible flight risk and a potential threat to the minor's safety, hence the high bond amount set given the severity of the crime.
"These allegations are very serious and Mr. Fuentes takes these allegations very seriously," the defendant's legal counsel, court-appointed attorney Clark Torbett, said at Wednesday's hearing. The public defender mentioned that his client is "gainfully employed" at a cafe and has lived in the area for the past seven years.
Fuentes, who is being held at Franklin County Jail, has a preliminary hearing scheduled for July 22, per court records reviewed by Townhall. As a condition of bond, Fuentes must stay away from the state's witness.