After having ignored the story on Wednesday night, CBS and NBC arrived on scene Thursday morning with coverage of an indictment in the rape of a 10-year-old Ohio girl and subsequent abortion in Indiana. But on CBS Mornings and NBC’s Today, neither cared to point out the man who’s confessed to raping her is an illegal immigrant and, in the case of the former, they implied the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade will cause there to be more incidents like this.
The case — which had seemed like dubious based on a single story and single source from the Indianapolis Star — fetched 28 seconds on Today with co-host Craig Melvin sharing in a news brief that “[a]n Ohio man has been charged with raping a 10-year-old girl in a case that’s garnered national attention.”
“According to court documents, 27-year-old Gerson Fuentes has confessed to the crime. The young victim reportedly traveled from Ohio to Indiana for an abortion,” Melvin added.
In reality, the man charged is, as reported by the Columbus Dispatch, an illegal immigrant.
Melvin wrapped by arguing that abortion’s now “illegal in Ohio after six weeks of pregnancy with exception for rape” as part of the state’s pro-life law that event into affect “just hours after the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade last month.”
CBS Mornings had three minutes and 29 seconds on the case and it began with co-host Tony Dokoupil tying the rape to the overturning of Roe V. Wade:
Turning now to a case that's getting national attention after the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. This week, a 27-year-old man named Gerson Fuentes was charged with raping a 10-year-old girl in the state of Ohio. Now, that little girl traveled to Indiana for an abortion because, under a new law in the state of Ohio, it would have required her to give birth unless it was determined her life was in danger. As Elaine Quijano reports, the case is showing the results of America's new abortion laws.
Like NBC, no one on CBS chose to mention Fuentes is in the country illegally.
Quijano cited “[t]he Indiana doctor who said she performed the abortion,” but skipped over how both her name (Caitlin Bernard) when mentioning the fact that she could face legal trouble for failing to report the rape to law enforcement.
Instead, Quijano focused on how Bernard “said the child was six weeks and three days pregnant,” which was “three days longer than Ohio allows an abortion to take place.”
Days before the story was confirmed, President Biden mentioned it last Friday as an example of the consequences of overturning a woman’s supposed right to an abortion.
“The case sparked outrage from President Biden last week while he signed an executive order to protect access to abortions,” Quijano said.
Quijano ended with a far-left academic who’s warning that we’ll “see a lot more” of these child rapes as if (a) such horrendous crimes weren’t happening prior to the Dobbs decision and (b) the Supreme Court has made such rapes more likely to occur (click “expand”):
CARY FRANKLIN: We're going to start to see a lot more tragic and difficult cases.
QUIJANO: Cary Franklin, director of UCLA's Center on Reproductive Health, Law, and Policy said since the nationwide right to abortion was eliminated by the Supreme Court, these types of cases will happen more often.
FRANKLIN: A lot of anti-abortion states, people will find themselves unable to terminate pregnancies that are the product of rape and incest and they will find themselves in difficult, traumatic situations.
QUIJANO: Detective Huhn said DNA tests are being conducted to confirm the paternity. Fuentes is scheduled to be in court again next week. There has been no comment from his defense attorney.
Reacting to fill-in co-host Vladimir Duthier’s comment that The Dispatch has claimed Columbus police now of “up to 50 incidents” of child rape since May 9, Quijano said this new incident “really illustrates just how complex this issue is, how deeply personal this issue is” that will have “a lot of Americans reflecting.”
Going to break, Dokoupil used nearly the same word to describe child rape as he did pro-life laws: “It’s an extreme case, but it shows the extremity of the law in about 11 states, no exceptions.”
Thursday’s incomplete coverage was brought to you by advertisers such as Colgate (on CBS), and Dove (on NBC). Follow the links to see their contact information at the MRC’s Conservatives Fight Back page.
To see the relevant CBS and NBC transcripts from July 14, click “expand.”
CBS Mornings
July 14, 2022
7:15 a.m. Eastern[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Ohio Rape Suspect Arrested; 10-Year-Old Pregnant Girl Traveled to Indiana to Have an Abortion]
TONY DOKOUPIL: Turning now to a case that's getting national attention after the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. This week, a 27-year-old man named Gerson Fuentes was charged with raping a 10-year-old girl in the state of Ohio. Now, that little girl traveled to Indiana for an abortion because, under a new law in the state of Ohio, it would have required her to give birth unless it was determined her life was in danger. As Elaine Quijano reports, the case is showing the results of America's new abortion laws.
COLUMBUS POLICE DETECTIVE JEFFREY HUHN: She indicated that her 10-year-old daughter was pregnant
ELAINE QUIJANO: Columbus detective Jeffrey Huhn testified in an arraignment Wednesday that 27-year-old Gerson Fuentes confessed to raping a 10-year-old girl at least twice leading to her pregnancy.
FRANKLIN COUNTY, OH PROSECUTOR: Is that daughter still pregnant today?
HUHN: No.
FRANKLIN COUNTY, OH PROSECUTOR: Why not?
HUHN: The victim went out of state to have a medical — a medically-terminated abortion.
QUIJANO: Huhn said the victim underwent the abortion in neighboring Indiana at the end of June. The Indiana doctor who said she performed the abortion said the child was six weeks and three days pregnant. That's three days longer than Ohio allows an abortion to take place. Ohio is one of 11 states with bans that have no exceptions for rape or incest. That's despite national polling that says an overwhelming majority of people support abortions in those conditions.
INDIANA ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD ROKITA (R) [on FNC’s Jesse Watters Primetime, 07/13/22]: We're gathering the evidence as we speak.
QUIJANO: Indiana's attorney is promising to investigate the doctor who performed the procedure, and if she followed proper reporting protocols.
ROKITA [on FNC’s Jesse Watters Primetime, 07/13/22]: We're going to fight this to the end, including looking at her licensure, if she failed to report — and, in Indiana it's a crime for — to not report, intentionally not report.
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN [on 07/08/22]: Imagine being that little girl.
QUIJANO: The case sparked outrage from President Biden last week while he signed an executive order to protect access to abortions.
BIDEN [on 07/08/22]: 10 years old, raped, six weeks pregnant, already traumatized, was forced to travel to another state.
CARY FRANKLIN: We're going to start to see a lot more tragic and difficult cases.
QUIJANO: Cary Franklin, director of UCLA's Center on Reproductive Health, Law, and Policy said since the nationwide right to abortion was eliminated by the Supreme Court, these types of cases will happen more often.
FRANKLIN: A lot of anti-abortion states, people will find themselves unable to terminate pregnancies that are the product of rape and incest and they will find themselves in difficult, traumatic situations.
QUIJANO: Detective Huhn said DNA tests are being conducted to confirm the paternity. Fuentes is scheduled to be in court again next week. There has been no comment from his defense attorney.
VLADIMIR DUTHIERS: It’s a tough story. The Columbus Dispatch in Ohio, which has been covering this story, as you know, Elaine, says that since May 9th, they found — this quoting them, “up to 50 incidents,” police reports filed of people — young women under the age of 15 that have been raped.
QUIJANO: This story really illustrates just how complex this issue is, how deeply personal this issue is. And, you know, this is a case that has a lot of Americans reflecting, and we're going to hear, I'm sure, more about it.
ADRIANA DIAZ: And 10-years-old. It’s just like — uh. A punch in the gut.
DOKOUPIL: It’s an awful story.
DIAZ: Horrific.
DOKOUPIL: It’s an extreme case, but it shows the extremity of the law in about 11 states, no exceptions. Elaine, thank you much.
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NBC’s Today
July 14, 2022
7:32 a.m. Eastern[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Today’s Headlines; Man Accused of Raping 10-Year-Old]
CRAIG MELVIN: An Ohio man has been charged with raping a 10-year-old girl in a case that’s garnered national attention. According to court documents, 27-year-old Gerson Fuentes has confessed to the crime. The young victim reportedly traveled from Ohio to Indiana for an abortion. The procedure is illegal in Ohio after six weeks of pregnancy with exception for rape. The Ohio law was enacted just hours after the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade last month.
