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A 27-year-old man has been charged in the sexual assault of a 10-year-old girl who reportedly traveled from Ohio to Indiana for an abortion in a case that drew international attention — and scrutiny — in the wake of the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
He was charged with the rape of a minor and faces a life sentence and deportation, the documents state. Bond was set at $2 million, and an initial hearing is scheduled for next week.
“She was forced to have to travel out of the state to Indiana to seek to terminate the pregnancy and maybe save her life,” Biden said last week. “Ten years old — 10 years old — raped, six weeks pregnant, already traumatized, was forced to travel to another state.”
The girl's situation began drawing attention after The Indianapolis Star reported that an Indianapolis physician who provides abortion services, Dr. Caitlin Bernard, said she had treated a 10-year-old rape victim. She said the girl had to travel from Ohio to Indiana after Ohio's "fetal heartbeat" law was enacted hours after the Supreme Court's ruling on Roe last month.
In Ohio, abortions are now outlawed at around six weeks of pregnancy, with no exceptions for cases involving rape or incest.