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Rape Victim's Sister Denounces Emphasis On Race

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By The Tampa Tribune | The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 29, 2008

  Rigoberto Morón Martinez

The two Apollo Beach restaurant employees who were attacked and raped Aug. 16 are working to reassemble their lives, but "the healing will be long-term and extensive," said Jacey Laundree, the sister of one of the victims.

In an e-mail to The Tampa Tribune, Laundree wrote that her family is grateful the people accused in the attack have been arrested. A MySpace page, www.myspace.com/apollobeachvictim2, is devoted to the victims.

But, Laundree wrote, she also is concerned about how media coverage about the rapes lately has focused on immigration issues.

Rigoberto Moron Martinez, the man her sister accused of being the ringleader in the attacks, is an undocumented immigrant, according to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman.

Martinez, who was arrested Aug. 20, also has been linked to two July attacks in Hillsborough County and an Aug. 3 rape and robbery in St. Petersburg, investigators said.

On Aug. 5, Hillsborough deputies arrested Martinez on a domestic violence-related charge. According to Hillsborough County deputies and St. Petersburg police, ICE was contacted then about his immigration status. Hours later, Martinez was released from jail.

U.S. Rep Ginny Brown-Waite on Sunday called for a review of the interaction "or lack thereof" between Hillsborough law enforcement and immigration officials in connection with Martinez's arrest Aug. 5.

Sheriff David Gee on Monday said Brown-Waite's comments were politically motivated and that his agency followed proper procedures.

Immigration officials haven't commented in detail about Martinez but said this week that even if ICE had received notification about him, he would not have met the qualifications for a high-priority case.

"In the media lately, the coverage of their case has taken a definitive turn," Laundree wrote. "It seems to have become a political battleground. The flaws in our legal system regarding non-citizens (from arrest to deportation) are not new. Suggesting we need to address the problem is a great idea, but the timing is poor and it certainly detracts from the validation the victims receive by seeing/reading compassionate coverage.

"Continuing this type of focused reporting, in my opinion, is akin to victimizing these people all over again as they are trying to heal. The spotlight at this time should be identifying the charges for the criminals (legal status or not), trying them, and punishing them for all of their crimes — to the fullest extent of the law."

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