US: Man found guilty of raping, impregnating 9-year-old girl gets life sentence
US: Man found guilty of raping, impregnating 9-year-old girl gets life sentence
The man who was found guilty of raping and impregnating a 9-year-old Ohio girl, who had to travel out of state to end her pregnancy, was on Wednesday sentenced to life imprisonment.
28-year-old Gerson Fuentes entered a plea agreement which will make him eligible to seek parole after serving 25 to 30 years. If granted parole, Fuentes would then have to register as a sex offender.
As per AP reports, Common Pleas Court Judge Julie Lynch, who wasn't required to approve the plea agreement, said that the girl’s family “begged” the judge to back it. Lynch called the deal a “very hard pill for this court to swallow.”
“Anyone who’s ever been in this courtroom for the last 20 years knows how this court feels about these babies, young people, being violated,” AP quoted Lynch as saying. “However, today, by the request of the family, this court will be sentencing without comment.”
The maximum sentence would have been life without parole. Settling the case before trial would excuse the survivor from having to testify in court.
Zachary Olah, an attorney who represented Fuentes, told The Columbus Dispatch after the hearing that his client has been cooperative since the beginning.
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“He was anxious to get this resolved,” Olah said.
The girl turned 10 before having the abortion. According to Franklin County prosecutors, she confirmed that Fuentes attacked her.
The prosecutors also said that the DNA test of the aborted fetus confirmed that Fuentes was the father.
The case gained national attention afterIndianapolis doctor, Dr Caitlin Bernard, released a statement saying that a 10-year-old girl had to travel to Indiana to terminate a pregnancy because Ohio banned the procedure at the first detectable fetal heartbeat.
Nearly 25 states have either banned or imposed restrictions on abortion since the Supreme Court struck down Roe, though many of the new laws are still being litigated.
(With inputs from agencies)
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