Jul 7, 2008 9:30 pm US/Eastern
Montgomery Co. Rape Case Takes Strange Turn
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (CBS 3) ―
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According to police, Enrique Perez beat and raped a 74-year-old woman inside her Hatboro home on September 18, 2007.
CBS
The attorney for an accused rapist wants his client to go free due to the fact that the alleged victim died two months after the attack.
It is a motion that prosecutors in Montgomery County are vowing to fight.
According to police, Enrique Perez beat and raped a 74-year-old woman inside her Hatboro home on September 18, 2007. The elderly victim died on December 23, 2007 from cancer.
"The fact that she passed away should not prevent us from moving forward," Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Ferman said.
Craig Hosay, Perez's attorney, filed a motion stating that because the victim is deceased and cannot testify, the charges should be dropped against his client.
"There was no opportunity to cross-examine the victim regarding what she may have seen, recalled," Hosay said.
Hosay said because his alleged victim is dead, Perez would be denied his constitutional right to confront his accuser.
"That's a fundamental right every defendant enjoys in Pennsylvania, as well as in the country," Hosay said.
Prosecutors contend Perez should face justice just like any other suspect, alluding to the fact that suspects in murder trials are routinely tried and convicted even though their victims can never testify.
"We have the obligation to seek justice on her behalf as well as on the behalf of the rest of the community and that's what we are going to do," Ferman said.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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