There have been two major developments in a high-profile child rape trial: Prosecutors asked the judge to drop the charges involving a 21-year-old victim who threatened to kill herself so that she doesn't have to testify against her alleged attacker and the judge ruled against a mistrial in which the defendant Salvador Aleman Cruz will represent himself and get to question his accusers.
Speaking through his interpreter, Cruz tried to convince the judge that one of his accuser’s threats to commit suicide that was witnessed by hundreds of people downtown and covered by the media had tainted the jury. The judge did not agree with Cruz's argument.
Cruz is representing himself, which means he has the legal right to confront the women he’s accused of raping and molesting when they were young.
“I'm just gonna keep fighting over my case, and I will fight until the end,” Cruz said.
Victims advocate Mary Ellen Stone said the pressure will be intense when the women have to lock eyes with him.
"It's a pretty intimidating setting and you're sitting there and he's sitting not that far away -- this is not an easy thing to do. It's never a very good thing for a victim, whether the defendant is particularly skilled at this or not, it's is a very difficult situation," Stone said.
Stone, executive director of the King County Sexual Assault Resource Center said she supports legislation that would protect victims in cases like this.
Rep. Brendan Williams said he will introduce a bill next year that would either allow victims to testify by closed-circuit TV or have someone else designated to ask the accused attacker's questions.
Similar legislation failed last year, but supporters said they will try again. They hope the dramatic scene that played out so publicly last week will help them make their case.
Despite the two molestation charges that were dropped against him, Cruz is still facing seven counts of child rape and molestation.
The standard sentence for those charges is 20-25 years. Prosecutors said because there are children involved, they could ask for what is known as an exceptional sentence -- life in prison.
