COLUMBUS — U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan is facing calls to “apologize…or resign” from Tamie Wilson, his opponent in the upcoming midterm election, who says that Jordan “tweeted trying to silence the rape” of a 10-year-old Ohio girl.” This criticism follows the arrest of a suspect in the case, which has drawn national attention in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
According to the Associated Press, a physician told reporters from The Indianapolis Star that an abortion had been provided to the child after she could not receive the procedure in Ohio due to the state’s “heartbeat ban,” which was imposed on June 24 following the reversal of Roe v. Wade.
But Jordan, R-Urbana, echoed suggestions from Ohio Attorney General David Yost that the incident was fabricated. On Tuesday, Jordan shared an article reporting Yost’s comments to Fox News that his office had not heard “a whisper” of evidence of a case involving a young rape victim traveling to Indiana to receive an abortion.
“Another lie. Anyone surprised?” Jordan replied in a tweet that has since been deleted.
But any questions about the case’s existence were dispelled when a 27-year-old Columbus man was arrested Tuesday and charged with a first-degree felony count of rape. According to the Associated Press, a detective testified in court Wednesday that authorities became aware of the girl’s pregnancy after her mother alerted Franklin County Children Services on June 22, adding that the subsequent abortion occurred on June 30 in Indianapolis.
Following news of the arrest, Wilson, the Delaware County Democrat seeking to unseat Jordan this November, issued a sweeping criticism of her opponent for casting doubts on the story.
“Today, a Columbus man was charged with impregnating a 10-year-old little girl. Yesterday, my opponent Jim Jordan tweeted that the girl’s rape story was another lie. How dare he minimize every woman and girl’s worse fear, of being sexually violated,” Wilson said in a press release.
Wilson alleges that this incident indicates a pattern of behavior for Jordan.
“We all know this isn’t the first time Jim Jordan has denied sexual abuse,” she continued. “Why is he always on the wrong side of such a horrible issue? I’m outraged and confused as to why he lacks the moral compass to call out sex offenders. Why does he evade the issue?
“Jim Jordan needs to apologize to the 10-year-old-girl and her family for calling her rape story a lie, or resign,” she added.
Neither Jordan nor Attorney General Yost has issued a formal apology on the matter. Jordan tweeted Wednesday that the suspect “should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law” after deleting his initial tweet. Yost said in a press release that he was “grateful for the diligent work of the Columbus Police Department in securing a confession and getting a rapist off the street.”
Jordan’s office did not provide a direct response to Wilson’s statement but instead pointed to the congressman’s comments to CNN’s Manu Raju. Raju tweeted that Jordan attempted to shift the narrative to undocumented immigration when asked if he regretted his earlier comment.
“The real story is this is a heinous crime by an illegal immigrant, and I hope he is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Jordan said. When asked if he would apologize, Jordan told Raju that he “never doubted the child. I was responding to a headline.”
A spokesman for Jordan declined to provide any further comment.
