Church members to rally for rape accuser

Church members to rally for rape accuser
By Natasha Lee, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Friday, May 23, 2008

TORII STATION, Okinawa — Parishioners from Yomitan Catholic Church are expected to hold a peace walk Saturday in front of Torii Station to show support for a Philippine woman who accused a U.S. soldier of rape in February.

The planned walk was prompted after Japanese prosecutors dropped charges last week against Sgt. Ronald Hopstock Jr., 25, of the 1st Battalion, 1st Air Defense Artillery Regiment, saying they lacked sufficient evidence to move forward with a trial.

The Army has said it will conduct its own investigation.

Father Rommel Cruz, who is organizing the walk, said the prosecutors’ actions were a disservice to the alleged victim, and that the walk is to push for the Army to carefully examine the incident.

"We’re not demonstrating against the U.S. base; we just want to show the public that the Filipino church community wants justice," Cruz said. "We want the military to look at this case and not use the Japanese judgment as their basis, but to start from zero and look into the case more thoroughly."


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