It was a story that started in a local newspaper and quickly made its way to the White House: a 10-year-old rape victim had been forced to travel interstate for an abortion just days after Roe v Wade was overturned because of the law change in her home state.
The devastating report highlighted the immediate real-life consequences of the US Supreme Court's ruling, but some questioned the lack of evidence, leading conservative-aligned news outlets to ask whether the story was fabricated.
Earlier this week, Ohio's attorney-general said there was no evidence to suggest the story was true — but police have since charged a 27-year-old man with rape.
Where did the story come from?
On July 1, American news outlet the Indianapolis Star published a story about how women were already travelling from Ohio to Indiana where abortions were more accessible after Roe v Wade was overturned by the US Supreme Court in June.
In the story, Indianapolis obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr Caitlin Bernard said she had received a call from a "child abuse doctor" in Ohio who had "a 10-year-old patient in the office who was six weeks and three days pregnant".
Under Ohio's so-called "heartbeat law" that was implemented shortly after Roe v Wade was overturned, a pregnant person can only access an abortion within the first six weeks of pregnancy, or until a fetal heartbeat is detected, with no exceptions for cases of rape and incest.
According to Dr Bernard, the child was three days too late to receive an abortion under Ohio's new legislation, and the Star reported that "the girl soon was on her way to Indiana to Bernard's care".
The story went viral after its publication and was referenced by US President Joe Biden when he signed an executive order to protect access to abortion in states where the procedure remains legal.
"Does anyone believe that the majority view is that should not be able to be dealt with?
"This isn't some imagined horror.
"It's already happening. I can't think of anything more extreme."
What was the issue with the story?
Some conservative commentators questioned the story because Dr Bernard was the only person cited as its source, and there was no other evidence to back up the claims.
As reported by the Washington Post, there was no suggestion that the journalist nor the newspaper had attempted to verify Dr Bernard's account, but a statement from the outlet's parent company Gannett said the sourcing and facts about people travelling to Indiana for abortions was clear.
The story also made no mention of where in Ohio the girl was from, nor was there any comment from the doctor who referred her to Dr Bernard.
As the story went viral and other news outlets who reported the story had also not attempted to verify Dr Bernard's claims, and fact-checking website Snopes was unable to conclude whether the story was authentic.
Additionally, physicians in Ohio are required under state law to report any known or suspected cases of abuse to child welfare or law enforcement agencies.
Critics of the story argued if it was true, a criminal case would have been opened in the state — but there was no evidence of a police report at the time of the original story's publication.
An attempt to sort fact from fiction
On Monday local time, Ohio's Republican Attorney-General Dave Yost was interviewed by Jesse Watters on Fox News, who asked whether a police report had been filed about the alleged rape of a 10-year-old girl.
"Not a whisper," Mr Yost replied.
"We have a decentralised law enforcement system in Ohio, we have regular contact with the prosecutors and local police and sheriffs, and [there's] not a whisper anywhere.
"What may be more telling, Jesse, my office runs the state crime lab. A case like this, you're going to have a rape kit, you're going to have biological evidence, and you would be looking for DNA analysis, which we do most of the DNA analysis in Ohio.
Mr Watters then asked Mr Yost whether it was a crime for physicians not to report a suspicion of a child being raped to law enforcement agencies, and if physicians could themselves be prosecuted for not disclosing the information.
"That's correct," Mr Yost said.
"It's also the fact that in Ohio, the rape of a 10-year-old means life in prison.
Mr Yost also argued that the child would have been able to access an abortion in Ohio.
"Ohio's heartbeat law has a medical emergency exception, broader than just the life of the mother," he said.
"This young girl, if she exists and if this horrible thing actually happened to her, breaks my heart to think about it, she did not have to leave Ohio to find treatment."
The next day, the Columbus Dispatch reported that Mr Yost told the USA Today Network's Ohio bureau that the details of the story were "more likely than not a fabrication" because there had been no arrest and no evidence uncovered.
Then came an arrest
Later on Tuesday, Ohio police officers arrested and charged a 27-year-old man with raping a 10-year-old girl.
At the Franklin County municipal court on Wednesday, a police investigator testified that the accused man had confessed to raping the girl at least twice.
The detective testified at the initial court appearance that Columbus police learned about the girl's pregnancy through a referral by Franklin County Children Services that was made by her mother on June 22, and had an abortion in Indiana on June 30 — six days after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v Wade.
The timeline heard in court also coincided with the story Dr Bernard shared with the Indianapolis Star.
The accused is being held on a $US2 million bond ($2.9 million) and is expected to return to court on July 22. He has not entered a plea.
What has the reaction been?
Mr Yost issued a single sentence statement after the arrest, saying: "We rejoice anytime a child rapist is taken off the streets."
He later tweeted a statement, saying "my heart aches for the pain suffered by this young child.
"I am grateful for the diligent work of the Columbus Police Department in securing a confession and getting a rapist off the street," he said.
Mr Yost did not address the comments he made on Fox News and USA Today that suggested the story was fabricated.
Ohio's Governor, Republican Mike DeWine, who had previously called the crime a tragedy, said the accused should receive a substantial sentence.
"He has said that if the evidence supports, the rapist should spend the rest of his life in prison," said Dan Tierney, a spokesperson for Mr DeWine.
The Indianapolis Star and Dr Caitlin Bernard have not commented further on the story's development.
