And his piece was updated yesterday with this:
"The Columbus Dispatch reported that a 27-year-old Columbus man had been charged with impregnating a 10-year-old Ohio girl who had traveled to Indianapolis for an abortion on June 30. Gershon Fuentes was arrested July 13 “after police say he confessed to raping the child on at least two occasions,” the newspaper reported “He’s since been charged with rape, a felony of the first degree in Ohio.”
A police detective testified that “Columbus police were made aware of the girl’s pregnancy through a referral by Franklin County Children Services that was made by her mother on June 22,” the Dispatch said. While reporting this story, the Fact Checker had contacted the Franklin County agency to ask if such a referral had been made. Unlike similar Ohio county agencies we contacted, Franklin County officials did not offer a response.
The detective also testified that “DNA from the clinic in Indianapolis is being tested against samples from Fuentes, as well as the child’s siblings, to confirm his paternity.”
This is an interesting example of the limitations that journalists face in corroborating this type of story without evidence confirmed by law enforcement. Should Bernard have disclosed the case before the police charged a suspect? Should the IndyStar have published her account without a second source? Should other news organizations have repeated the story without doing their own reporting? Those are questions beyond the purview of the Fact Checker, but worthwhile for readers and media pundits to consider."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/07/09/one-source-story-about-10-year-old-an-abortion-goes-viral/