“We have a decentralized law enforcement system in Ohio, but we have regular contact with prosecutors, local police and sheriffs,” Dave Yost said on Fox News’ “Jesse Watters Primetime.” “Not a whisper anywhere.” Yost then noted that his office manages the Buckeye State crime lab and added, “Any case like this, you’d have a rape kit, you’d have biological evidence and you’d be looking for DNA analysis. who do most of the DNA analysis in Ohio. There is no request for an analysis like this.” “I know our prosecutors and police officers in this situation,” Yost continued. “There is not one of them who would not turn over every rock in his jurisdiction if they had the slightest inkling that this happened there.” Dave Yost claims Ohio law enforcement has no knowledge of a rape case involving a 10-year-old girl. Cate Dingley/Bloomberg via Getty Images On July 1, the Indianapolis Star reported that a local OB-GYN, Dr. Caitlin Bernard, was contacted four days earlier by a “child abuse doctor” from Ohio, who told Bernard they had just seen a 10-year-old patient who was six weeks and three days pregnant. According to the story, that meant the girl was three days late getting an abortion under Ohio’s new law, which took effect after the Supreme Court’s June 24 ruling overturned Roe v. Wade. The Star reported that Bernard took responsibility for the girl’s care, but did not say whether the child underwent an abortion or any other procedure. The paper also did not identify the doctor who told Bernard about the case, and Bernard appeared to be the only source for the story. “Any case like this, you’re going to have rape kits, you’re going to have biological evidence,” Dave Yost told Fox News.Fox News Under Ohio law, doctors are required to report any case of known or suspected child abuse or neglect, including “injury of any physical or mental [or] damage.” If, as Yost claims, law enforcement is unaware of a rape case involving a 10-year-old girl, that suggests either the Ohio doctor violated state law by not reporting the crime, or Bernard fabricated the incident to an unsuspecting reporter. “We don’t know who the original doctor was in Ohio, if any,” Yost told Watters Monday night. “But the bottom line is that it’s a crime — if you’re a mandated reporter — not to report.” The report says the 10-year-old patient was six weeks and three days pregnant, three days too late to have an abortion under Ohio’s new law. AJ Mast/APOhio’s new law went into effect after the Supreme Court’s June 24 decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Barbara J. Perenic/The Columbus Dispatch via AP Several news outlets and fact-checking websites, including the Washington Post and Snopes, could not independently verify the Star’s report. The Post also reached out to Bernard last week, but did not hear back. As social media users and conservative websites began raising questions about the story Friday, Biden cited the report in a White House speech in which he railed against enabling laws like Ohio’s. “Imagine being that little girl,” the president said. “I’m serious, imagine being that little girl. Ten years old!” President Biden brought up the report about the little girl as he raged against enabling laws. Yuri Gripas/Pool via CNP/SplashNews.com When pressed later Friday if the White House had verified key details of the case — including the identity of the victim — press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre referred reporters to the Justice Department. “I have nothing more to share about the identity of this young woman or the question you just asked me,” Jean-Pierre said. “The president spoke to that young woman just to show how extreme the decision — the Dobbs decision was and how extreme it is now for the American public, the — American families when there is no exception.” It is unclear why the press secretary invoked the Justice Department, since the rape would have been a matter for local law enforcement unless the girl was taken across state lines by the perpetrator.
On Monday, Yost claimed that Ohio’s enabling law had an exception that would have allowed the girl — “if she exists and if this horrible thing happened to her” — to get an abortion in the state, undermining the point of the Star article .