No bond for man accused of raping Ohio girl

Описание: (28 Jul 2022)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Columbus, Ohio – 28 July 2022
1. Wide of Gerson Fuentes entering the courtroom.
2. Various of the prosecuting and defense attorney speaking to judge
3. SOUNDBITE: (English) Julie Lynch, Franklin County Judge:
"It does not appear to be unreasonable to this court that when a child who has gone through the physical trauma of being raped, the physical trauma of being 10-years-old and being impregnated, the physical and mental and emotional trauma of having to drive to another state, have this whole entire incident in this child's life become a national hot point to the point where the president of the United States is referring to this case. The court finds that that trauma is enough to never have that child be around the alleged defendant."
4. Various of Detective Jeffrey Huhn on the witness stand speaking to Franklin County Prosecutor Dan Meyer.
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Julie Lynch, Franklin County Judge:
"I have not had where the defendant has agreed to have DNA taken. I have not had a no bond hearing in which that DNA match is 99.99%."
6. Various of Gerson Fuentes during the hearing
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Julie Lynch, Franklin County Judge:
"This man lived in the home with this child. To allow him to return to that home — the traumatic and psychological impact would be undeserving to an alleged victim of sexual assault or abuse."
8. Various of Gerson Fuentes and defense attorney Bryan Bowen during the hearing
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Julie Lynch, Franklin County Judge:
"At this time, the court does give merit to the motion by the state and Mr. Fuentes will be held without bond. That will be all."
10. Wide of Gerson Fuentes exiting the courtroom
STORYLINE:
A man accused of raping and impregnating a 9-year-old Ohio girl who traveled to Indiana for an abortion was ordered held without bond Thursday by a judge who cited overwhelming evidence and the fact that he apparently is living in the U.S. illegally.
Gerson Fuentes, 27, faces two counts of raping the girl, who turned 10 before having the abortion in a case that has become a flashpoint in the national discussion about access to the procedure since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. He has pleaded not guilty.
If convicted, Fuentes, who is from Guatemala, faces the possibility of life in prison with no chance of parole. That penalty and "not having any ties to this community that can be proved legally makes it a substantial flight risk," Franklin County Judge Julie Lynch said after a 35-minute hearing.
The girl confirmed that Fuentes attacked her, Fuentes confessed to Columbus police detectives, and DNA testing of the aborted fetus confirmed Fuentes was the father, Franklin County Prosecutor Dan Meyer and Detective Jeffrey Huhn said in court Thursday.
Huhn said he was unable, when searching multiple databases, to find any evidence that Fuentes was in the country legally.
In denying bond, Lynch cited that evidence, the violence of the crime and the fact that Fuentes had been living in the same home with the girl and her mother.
"To allow him to return to that home, the traumatic and psychological impact would be undeserving to an alleged victim," Lynch said. She also cited the "physical, and mental and emotional trauma" the girl suffered from enduring the rapes and the abortion, and finding her case at the center of the country's abortion debate.
Columbus police learned about the girl's pregnancy after her mother alerted Franklin County Children Services on June 22. Huhn said Fuentes confessed to raping the girl, who turned 10 on May 28, on two separate occasions.

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter:   / ap_archive  
Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​
Instagram:   / apnews  


You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...