Air Force Grossly Mishandles Rape Case

We all know that our military is a patriarchal system, but it is still unbelievable how badly the Air Force has mishandled its dealings with Airman 1st Class Cassandra Hernandez.

The story starts in May of 2006, when Ms. Hernandez is raped by three fellow airmen after an evening of heavy drinking. Thinking she would be treated fairly and her attackers would be prosecuted, she reported the rape to the authorities. Things began to go wrong almost immediately, when only one of the attackers was charged with a crime.

The Air Force then allows the male airman's attorney to go after AFC Hernandez. After not one, but two sessions with that attorney, the young Texan said she felt "enormous stress" and decided not to testify. She said, "The pressure of the judicial process was too much for me, and I felt like no one was looking out for my interests."

It is understandable that the Air Force then dropped the rape charges against the male airman (because they no longer had a witness), but what they did next is incomprehensible. The Air Force has now charged AFC Hernandez with committing an "indecent act". If she is convicted, she could receive a year in jail, a reduction in rank, a dishonorable discharge and possibly have to register as a sex offender.

Since all three males admit they had sex with Hernandez (although they claim it was consentual), one might reasonably expect they would be charged with the same crime. Not true! They were given immunity from criminal prosection so they could be prosecution witnesses at Hernandez's trial.

The men were given minor nonjudicial punishments. They were given a reduction in rank, which was then suspended and will not take effect if they cause no further trouble. One was fined two month's pay. A second was fined two months pay, but that fine was suspended. The third was given 30 days of extra duties.

So it looks like the criminals were given a slap on the wrist, and the victim is facing a criminal trial. The Air Force claims they are not trying to punish her for reporting the crime and then refusing to testify. But if that were true, then all four should have received the same punishment. Obviously they have not.

The Air Force has mishandled this case from the very beginning. AFC Hernandez's only crime is being a woman in a patriarchal system, and deluding herself into thinking that system would treat her fairly. This military misogyny should not be allowed to go any further.

The Air Force should immediately drop the charges and beg forgiveness of AFC Hernandez. Then it should take a long hard look at how it treats its female service members.