thedrifter
09-14-07, 10:40 AM
Charges dropped for airman claiming rape
By Erik Holmes - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Sep 14, 2007 10:29:23 EDT
Sixteen months after Airman 1st Class Cassandra Hernandez claimed she was gang-raped by three other airmen, her legal saga is coming to an end.
The Air Force is dropping all charges against Hernandez, the 20-year-old woman at Pope Air Force Base, N.C., who was to face court-martial Sept. 24 on charges of indecent acts and underage drinking related to a May 2006 sexual encounter in a base dorm room.
Hernandez and Col. Timothy Zadalis, the base commander, agreed Sept. 4 to settle the charges through Article 15 nonjudicial punishment proceedings, according to a Pope official. Hernandez admitted Sept. 6 to underage drinking and received nonjudicial punishment, which was not disclosed.
She refused to admit committing indecent acts, however. Zadalis decided Wednesday that she would not be punished but did issue a letter of reprimand to her.
Capt. Christopher Eason, one of her lawyers, said Hernandez “is very disappointed that the [letter] was administered.” He said she will respond.
Hernandez’s case received national media attention when her lawyers, Eason and Capt. Omar Ashmawy, went public with what they characterized as a miscarriage of justice — an alleged rape victim being accused of indecent acts and court-martialed while her alleged assailants were given immunity to testify against her.
Hernandez went to a party the evening of May 12, 2006, in a base dorm room. She drank heavily, left the party with three male airmen she knew socially and went to one of their dorm rooms nearby.
There, the men took turns having sex with her. They said it was consensual. Hernandez maintains it was rape.
In a statement provided to Air Force Times in August, Hernandez said she eventually left the room partially clothed, made her way back to her dorm room and a neighbor took her to the hospital. She was later interviewed by agents from the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.
The Air Force investigated Hernandez’s allegations and charged one of the airmen with rape. But Hernandez declined to testify at his December Article 32 hearing because, she said, she was under stress, felt intimidated by the alleged rapist’s lawyer, and wanted to put the incident behind her.
The Air Force then dropped the rape charge.
All four airmen — including Hernandez — were referred for nonjudicial punishment for committing indecent acts.
The three men accepted the Article 15 and were punished with $300 to $400 fines or extra duties. But Hernandez refused the Article 15 and requested trial by court-martial, according to the Air Force. She said she refused because she would not admit to committing indecent acts.
The Air Force then charged Hernandez with underage drinking and willingly having sex with one of the airmen while the other two were present. She rejected a summary court-martial and was scheduled to by tried Sept. 24 by special court-martial.
Ellie
By Erik Holmes - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Sep 14, 2007 10:29:23 EDT
Sixteen months after Airman 1st Class Cassandra Hernandez claimed she was gang-raped by three other airmen, her legal saga is coming to an end.
The Air Force is dropping all charges against Hernandez, the 20-year-old woman at Pope Air Force Base, N.C., who was to face court-martial Sept. 24 on charges of indecent acts and underage drinking related to a May 2006 sexual encounter in a base dorm room.
Hernandez and Col. Timothy Zadalis, the base commander, agreed Sept. 4 to settle the charges through Article 15 nonjudicial punishment proceedings, according to a Pope official. Hernandez admitted Sept. 6 to underage drinking and received nonjudicial punishment, which was not disclosed.
She refused to admit committing indecent acts, however. Zadalis decided Wednesday that she would not be punished but did issue a letter of reprimand to her.
Capt. Christopher Eason, one of her lawyers, said Hernandez “is very disappointed that the [letter] was administered.” He said she will respond.
Hernandez’s case received national media attention when her lawyers, Eason and Capt. Omar Ashmawy, went public with what they characterized as a miscarriage of justice — an alleged rape victim being accused of indecent acts and court-martialed while her alleged assailants were given immunity to testify against her.
Hernandez went to a party the evening of May 12, 2006, in a base dorm room. She drank heavily, left the party with three male airmen she knew socially and went to one of their dorm rooms nearby.
There, the men took turns having sex with her. They said it was consensual. Hernandez maintains it was rape.
In a statement provided to Air Force Times in August, Hernandez said she eventually left the room partially clothed, made her way back to her dorm room and a neighbor took her to the hospital. She was later interviewed by agents from the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.
The Air Force investigated Hernandez’s allegations and charged one of the airmen with rape. But Hernandez declined to testify at his December Article 32 hearing because, she said, she was under stress, felt intimidated by the alleged rapist’s lawyer, and wanted to put the incident behind her.
The Air Force then dropped the rape charge.
All four airmen — including Hernandez — were referred for nonjudicial punishment for committing indecent acts.
The three men accepted the Article 15 and were punished with $300 to $400 fines or extra duties. But Hernandez refused the Article 15 and requested trial by court-martial, according to the Air Force. She said she refused because she would not admit to committing indecent acts.
The Air Force then charged Hernandez with underage drinking and willingly having sex with one of the airmen while the other two were present. She rejected a summary court-martial and was scheduled to by tried Sept. 24 by special court-martial.
Ellie