Ohio Rape Victim Saga Shows Pundits and Politicians Shouldn’t Launch Witch Hunts Before Figuring Out If Witchery is Even Afoot

Sarah RumpfJul 16th, 2022, 3:52 pm
 

Fox Falsely Claims Doc Failed to Report Child Rape

“I’m not a witch, I’m not a witch!” Connie Booth’s character insisted in the cult classic 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. “They dressed me up like this,” she cried out, accusing the crowd of forcing her into a witch’s hat and carrot nose.

It’s hilarious to watch the Python troupe — including Booth’s then-husband John Cleese as a newly-recovered former newt — portray a witch hunt devolving into an absurd debate over the relative weights of women and ducks.

It’s not so funny when the witch hunt theatrics target real people.

But that’s exactly what happened with the media maelstrom swirling around a viral story published by the Indianapolis Star about a pregnant 10-year-old Ohio rape victim who traveled to Indiana to have an abortion. According to Dr. Caitlin Bernard, the doctor who performed the girl’s abortion, the girl was unable to get an abortion in Ohio due to the state’s newly-triggered ban on the procedure after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which can happen around six weeks of pregnancy.

It’s a horrifying story. The girl was reportedly only 9 at the time she became pregnant, half the legal age of consent (this was rape under all possible fact patterns) and a time in her life when she should be worried about losing her baby teeth, not having a baby of her own.

The story also became the timber from which right-wing politicians and commentators constructed a metaphorical pyre to burn their Witch of the Month, abortion provider Bernard.

Conservatives furiously jockeyed for position among the online and televised mob, battling to be the loudest in questioning the validity of the story. Much of their criticism was focused on Bernard, accusing her of fabricating the story for a partisan political charade to oppose the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

“The story was not true,” declared top-rated Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

A “fantastical tale,” and “too good to confirm,” a Wall Street Journal editorial said.

There were “ten red flags” about the story, PJ Media’s Megan Fox told Fox News’ Jesse Watters, adding “this story should now be placed in the hoax category.”

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (R) also went on Watters’ show, declaring he had heard “not a whisper” about the case and claimed Ohio law didn’t actually prohibit the girl’s abortion so she shouldn’t have had to leave the state.

Emily Compagno, co-host of Fox News’ Outnumbered, called the story “deeply offensive” and “fake.”

“Another lie,” tweeted Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH).

The objections were false. The outrage a fraud. The tragic news: that was real.

As The Columbus Dispatch reported on Wednesday, Gerson Fuentes, a 27-year-old illegal immigrant, was arrested and charged with raping the girl. Columbus police said that he had confessed to raping her on at least two occasions.

With Fuentes arrested and public court records verifying the key elements of the story, the punditry posse clung tightly to their torches and pitchforks as they shifted to echoing Yost’s claim the abortion could have been done in Ohio, bizarrely attempting to take credit for Fuentes’ arrest, and accusing Bernard of various crimes.

Regarding the difficulty of finding an Ohio doctor to perform this abortion, criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor Ken White (aka Popehat on Twitter) tweeted a thread eviscerating Yost’s arguments.

“The people telling you the 10-year-old could get an abortion in Ohio are ignorant or lying,” White wrote, noting Ohio allowed no exceptions for rape, incest, or age of the mother. Doctors might conclude a pregnant girl so young met the statute’s exceptions for risk to the mother’s life or “serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function,” but, he argued, it was far from clear legally, and a lawyer would be a “fool” to advise a doctor to go forward and risk the loss of their license, lawsuits, and prison.

Ohio’s nonpartisan Legislative Services Commission also rejected Yost’s interpretation of the statute, as legal journalist Chris Geidner reported. Yost’s Democratic challenger, Ohio State Rep. Jeff Crossman, blasted Yost’s comments as “so blatantly and brazenly wrong,” and “reckless and demonstrat[ing] a fundamental misunderstanding of the law he’s supposed to administer.”

It would have been inherently cruel to demand the girl try to find an abortion provider in Ohio. With the girl’s qualification for legal exceptions far from certain, making this attempt would have meant taking her to multiple doctors, each time a new stranger who would be medically and legally required to conduct a physical examination. Traveling to Indiana, where the abortion’s legality was clear and Bernard had agreed to perform it, avoided this repetitive trauma.

Facing backlash after the Dispatch verified the story, PJ Media’s Fox tweeted a baseless claim that “no media was looking for a rapist” until her reporting and speculated the arrest might not have happened “if no one asked questions about the shoddy reporting of this heinous act.”

Carlson predictably ignored how he had called the story “not true,” and instead spent a segment on Wednesday attacking President Joe Biden for mentioning the girl in a speech.

Wednesday’s Jesse Watters Primetime was one of the most egregious chapters in this multimedia witch hunt, as the show’s host took his own victory lap with a chyron boasting “WE KEPT THE PRESSURE UP ON THIS STORY” and brought on Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita (R) to join him in accusing Bernard of a criminal cover-up.

“If so-called doctors are covering up child rape, they need to be prosecuted,” Watters declared, as Bernard’s photo was displayed with the label, “FAILURE TO REPORT?”

“So, is a criminal charge next and will Dr. Bernard lose her license?” he eagerly asked Rokita.

Rokita assured Watters that his office did indeed plan to burn the witch.

“We’re gathering the information, we’re gathering the evidence as we speak and we’re going to fight this to the end — including looking at her licensure, if she failed to report” the child’s abuse, the attorney general vowed. “I’m not letting it go.”

“DOC FAILED TO REPORT ABORTION OF ABUSE VICTIM,” the Fox News chyron declared Bernard guilty while her picture split the screen with Rokita.

Rokita made good on his pledge Thursday, issuing a statement declaring his office’s investigation into Bernard with potential criminal prosecution, action against her medical license, and a HIPAA violation.

The Washington Post’s Radley Balko, who frequently covers criminal justice issues, tweeted that Fox News was “either actively trying to get [Bernard] killed, or just don’t give a damn that they’re putting her in danger.”

Legal experts denounced Rokita’s investigation as a “political witch hunt,” as reported by my Law&Crime colleague Marissa Sarnoff.

Indiana mandates that abortion providers report any abortion performed on a child under 16 years old to Indiana’s health and child services departments within 3 days, Sarnoff noted, and requires any adult in the state “who has reason to believe that a child is a victim of child abuse or neglect” to make a report either to law enforcement or child services. An exception to the abuse reporting requirement exists if “a report has already been made to the best of the individual’s belief.”

Ryan Mears, the chief prosecutor for Marion County, Indiana, was highly critical of Rokita investigating Bernard when it was known that the rape had already been reported in Ohio, telling Sarnoff that the state law requires abuse to be reported, but “does not particularly state that Indiana law enforcement has to be notified.”

“It’s unfortunate that a doctor who provides legal medical treatment to a victim who needs help is now subject to this level of intimidation,” he added, which “erodes trust and the public’s confidence in institutions.”

And as it turns out, Bernard did make a timely report.

On Thursday, various Indiana media outlets began posting documents they had obtained in response to public records requests, showing Barnard had filed her report on July 2, two days after the girl’s June 30 abortion (Indiana law required her to report by July 3). The Indy Star and Fox 59 in Indianapolis were among the first, with multiple local reporters soon posting their own confirmation.

Bernard’s attorney, Kathleen Delaney, issued a statement Thursday that her client “has not violated any law, including patient privacy laws, and she has not been disciplined by her employer” and was “considering legal action” against those who had “smeared” her, including Rokita.

Delaney sent a cease-and-desist letter to Rokita on Friday, calling his comments on Fox News “false and defamatory statements,” which cast Bernard “in a false light and allege[d] misconduct in her profession.”

Watters has yet to acknowledge that the witch hunt announced and promoted on his show was a sham. On Thursday’s episode, he ranted for awhile with former George W. Bush White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer about Fuentes being an illegal immigrant, inaccurately claimed the media was covering up that fact, and even openly questioned the immigration status of the girl’s mother. On Friday, the story was not mentioned at all.

Sarnoff also analyzed how unlikely it was that Bernard’s comments to the Star would constitute a violation of HIPAA, as Watters and Rokita, among others, had suggested.

“Bernard did no more than identify the girl’s age,” wrote Sarnoff, not her name, exact birthdate, physical description, address, date of treatment, or other identifying detail. “[I]t would be nearly impossible to identify a patient by their age alone…the sharing of an anonymized vignette about a patient’s medical treatments generally does not offend HIPAA.”

Bernard’s employer, Indiana University Health, reached the same conclusion, releasing a statement Friday that it had “conducted an investigation with the full cooperation of Dr. Bernard and other IU Health team members” and “found Dr. Bernard in compliance with privacy laws.”

Let’s look at the timeline of events (from my reporting on Thursday, with an added line on July 2 for Bernard’s report):

May 12: Fuentes allegedly rapes the girl in Ohio.

June 22: The girl’s mother reports her daughter’s rape and pregnancy to county child services officials in Ohio, who notify law enforcement, and a Columbus Police report with this date is generated.

June 30: The girl has an abortion in Indiana, performed by Bernard.

July 1: The Indy Star story is published.

July 2: Bernard files the required abortion disclosure in Indiana.

July 6: The girl identifies Fuentes as her rapist, according to the probable cause affidavit filed by Columbus Police to obtain a warrant for Fuentes.

July 12: Fuentes is arrested and a buccal swab taken to compare his DNA to the evidence gathered from the girl’s abortion. Fuentes is taken to the Columbus Police station, where he is interviewed and confesses to raping the girl, according to police.

A search of Fox’s PJ Media archives shows she first wrote about the Ohio girl on July 7. The articles, tweets, and TV hits from other commentators attacking the story’s veracity spiked during the early part of this week before pivoting to attacking Bernard after the July 13 Dispatch article.

Setting aside the mental gymnastics needed to believe local police allocate their investigatory resources based on whatever a conservative blogger is mad about this week, it is nonsensical to say these critics deserve retroactive credit for Fuentes’ arrest when the police report, Bernard’s report, and girl’s identification of Fuentes all occurred before their diatribes.

As for Witchfinder General Rokita, he accused Bernard of failing to report a crime that he knew had already been reported and investigated in Ohio when he rushed in front of the Fox News cameras with bold declarations but an embarrassing lack of effort to find the facts. It was a less-than-24 hour turnaround between Rokita announcing his investigation on Fox News and all those reporters tweeting evidence Bernard had complied with Indiana reporting requirements.

There might be a stronger whiff of validity to these complaints if the Ohio cops were dragging their feet; a depressing number of rapes remain unsolved, despite efforts to direct more funding to processing rape kits and other reform initiatives. To the contrary, it took less a week after the girl reportedly identified Fuentes for Columbus Police to arrest him, a reasonable time frame to collect evidence, prepare a probable cause affidavit, and go before a judge to request a warrant.

Justice was neither delayed nor denied along the path to arresting the alleged predator here, and not one darn bit of this fauxtrage parade was needed to accomplish it. 

A bitter congratulations to the Tweedledum and Tweedledee of Midwest attorneys general, Yost and Rokita, who got their Fox News hits and concomitant name recognition boost, but failed to assist the investigation or protect other child rape victims. There is an argument to be made that powerful statewide government officials so aggressively attacking this story reinforces the fear rape victims feel that they will not be believed if they come forward.

It was fair for skeptics to point out Bernard was the Star’s sole on-the-record source, but there was no proof that Bernard was lying. Instead, they promoted their doubts about the story to insinuate this 10-year-old pregnant rape victim did not exist, because she represented a weakness in their efforts to pass increasingly restrictive and punitive abortion laws. The pivot to target Bernard was an effort to intimidate political opponents and distract from the painful-but-necessary debate America must have in the wake of Roe’s downfall.

I am personally pro-life, believe there is a wonderful potential in every unborn child, and that it is heartbreaking when any woman does not feel safe and supported in continuing her pregnancy. I also believe that we can be most effective at protecting unborn babies by protecting their mothers, and I cannot support policies that put mothers’ lives at risk.

The story of this particular Ohio girl is shocking because of her tender age, but the tragic statistic she represents is sadly not rare at all, and politicians and activists seeking to ban or restrict access to abortion must acknowledge what exactly we are demanding these young girls’ bodies to bear. 

The reality is that young girls — children years from the physical and mental maturity that should accompany bearing children of their own — are getting pregnant in every state in America.

The number of teen births have been declining in recent years, but the U.S. Census Bureau reports that American girls under the age of 15 gave birth to nearly 1,800 children in 2020. CDC data shows 1,410 girls under the age of 15 had abortions in the U.S. in 2019. In Ohio alone, the state department of health reported 52 girls under the age of 15 had abortions in 2020.

Teen mothers face a higher risk of many pregnancy complications, and the dangers increase with younger maternal age.

Their little bodies might be able to menstruate but are ill-equipped to carry a child to term and safely give birth. The pelvic floor reaches its full adult width in the late teenage years, meaning some young mothers simply cannot push a baby through the birth canal, a brutal death for both mother and baby. The girls who do live through the ordeal can suffer catastrophic, crippling injuries. Even if a Caesarean section is planned, the underage mother’s cardiovascular system will be under immense strain throughout the pregnancy and the placenta will nourish the fetus by leaching calcium and other nutrients the girl desperately needs to survive, not to mention finish her growth and development.

There are still unanswered questions about this case, but the witch hunts did nothing to spare the girl further suffering, nor did they alter the reality that we cannot morally or ethically demand that a 10-year-old give birth.

The pro-life movement must have a reckoning, to examine how we can most effectively protect life, which includes examining how our laws and actions may result in pain, trauma, and even death. And after day upon day of these pundits and politicians crying wolf about the story being fake and the doctor being a criminal, they’ve forfeited their ability to effectively advocate for the young victim.

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.

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Sarah Rumpf - Contributing Editor

Sarah Rumpf joined Mediaite in 2020 and is a Contributing Editor focusing on politics, law, and the media. A native Floridian, Sarah attended the University of Florida, graduating with a double major in Political Science and German, and earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the UF College of Law. Sarah's writing has been featured at National Review, The Daily Beast, Reason, Law&Crime, Independent Journal Review, Texas Monthly, The Capitolist, Breitbart Texas, Townhall, RedState, The Orlando Sentinel, and the Austin-American Statesman, and her political commentary has led to appearances on television, radio, and podcast programs across the globe. Follow Sarah on Threads, Twitter, and Bluesky.