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The Guatemalan illegal immigrant charged with raping and impregnating an Ohio 10-year-old who traveled to Indiana for an abortion was listed as a minor in the report the Indiana-based abortionist sent to authorities.
Dr. Caitlin Bernard reported that the alleged rapist was approximately 17-years-old in an official filing to the Indiana Department of Health obtained Thursday by Fox News Digital. On Wednesday, Ohio authorities charged 27-year-old Gerson Fuentes, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, with rape of a minor under 13 years old in the case.
Fuentes confessed to the crime to Columbus Police Department investigators, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said in a statement Wednesday.
OHIO MAN, 27, CHARGED WITH RAPE OF GIRL, 10, WHO REPORTEDLY SOUGHT ABORTION IN INDIANA
However, the 10-year-old's mother said her daughter was "fine" and "everything they say about [Gerson Flores] is a lie" when confronted Thursday by a Telemundo reporter.
The alleged rape made headlines earlier this month after Bernard told The Indy Star on July 1 she had performed an abortion for a young rape victim who she said was forced to cross state lines from Ohio in order to receive the procedure. Ohio implemented a six-week abortion ban shortly after the Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision which granted women the federal right to an abortion.
"It’s hard to imagine that in just a few short weeks we will have no ability to provide that care," Bernard told The Indy Star at the time, referencing a potential similar abortion ban that could go into effect in Indiana following the high court's ruling.
Gerson Fuentes, 27, has been charged with rape of a minor under 13 in Ohio. (Franklin County Sheriff's Office)
Following Bernard's comments, President Biden referenced the incident during a speech on July 11 and, on July 3, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem was asked during a CNN interview whether she would force young victims of rape "to have a baby."
In addition, after Fuentes was charged Wednesday, Republican Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita announced he would investigate Bernard for failing to report the abortion, saying "failure to do so constitutes a crime in Indiana." But the documents obtained Thursday by Fox News Digital show Bernard successfully filed the proper report with the state on July 2.
"My client, Dr. Caitlin Bernard, took every appropriate and proper action in accordance with the law and both her medical and ethical training as a physician," Bernard's lawyer Kathleen DeLaney said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "She followed all relevant policies, procedures and regulations in this case, just as she does every day to provide the best possible care for her patients."
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"She has not violated any law, including patient privacy laws, and she has not been disciplined by her employer," DeLaney continued. "We are considering legal action against those who have smeared my client, including Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, and know that the facts will all come out in due time."
The documents show Bernard performed a non-surgical abortion for a 6-weeks pregnant 10-year-old girl of Mexican ethnicity on June 30.
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