Last week Tuesday, a frightened 15-year old called one of her government lawyers to say that she and her mother were following the man who had raped her last month through the winding streets of her neighborhood. The girl lost him as he went down an alley, but the news quickly spread to the investigative police, and the Association for a More Just Society (ASJ, formerly known as AJS) investigator working on the case, who set up a surveillance operation in the neighborhood. On Wednesday afternoon police and the ASJ investigator arrested the alleged rapist as he left his home.
Peace For Rape Survivors
June 13, 2012
This brave 15-year-old was not the only survivor in this case, the suspect is accused of raping approximately 25 girls in the last year, continually evading arrest. In October of 2011, the investigative police and lawyers working on the case became frustrated with the ASJ Rescue team. The officials knew that the team provides investigative, legal, and psychological support to minors who survive sexual abuse, and they needed help. They did not have the cars and staff to do the kind of intensive investigations necessary to catch the suspect. Since then, ASJ investigator Fernando has helped to organize interviews with survivors and possible witnesses, surveillance of abandoned houses where the rapist operated, and interrogations of possible suspects.
After the arrest, the police searched his house and found clothing that many of the survivors said he was wearing during the rape, and when the first ten survivors were summoned to recognize him Fernando says, “They all agreed 100% that it was him.”
Fernando adds, “The night after we arrested him, I couldn’t sleep, maybe because of all the pressure. We got so tired of hearing, ‘There’s a new victim’. It’s really important to know that we’ve arrested the correct individual and that he can’t do any more harm.”
The Rescue lawyer, Cristian, will now work with government lawyers to bring charges in the case, and the psychologist, Ada, will work with the survivors, she says she hopes to help them “Go back to living a normal life.”
Fernando summarizes the feeling of the whole team, “Thank you for your support, and prayers!”
Please continue to pray for the survivors, their families, and the legal process.
Honduras’s Institutional Crisis Deepens Ahead of the 2025 Elections
Dear friend, I couldn’t stop looking at the picture. Of course, there had been plenty of inspiring photos from this summer’s Prayer Walk for Peace and Democracy. The sea of blue and white rising and falling as hundreds of thousands walked the Honduran hills through Tegucigalpa, flowing like a never-ending stream. Catholic nuns praying their rosaries alongside Pentecostals dancing in the streets. But the picture that still knocks me flat is the closeup. The one of the two men standing side by side (picture enclosed). They are exhausted, and the shorter collapses into the taller. The tears mostly hold joy and relief, but they are mingled with something darker. After all, there had been threats—promises of harm done to themselves and their loved ones if they led their followers through the streets of Honduras in prayer. Despite the fear and intimidation, Pastor Gerardo Irías and Monsignor José Vicente Nácher forged ahead. They knew Honduras needed unity and, above all, prayer before the looming November 2025 presidential elections. As an ASJ supporter, you know that these kinds of threats aren’t out of the ordinary, and your support has helped slow and reverse violence in Honduras. Today, I am writing to share a way you can continue standing with brave Hondurans like Pastor Gerardo and Monsignor José in hope. The Evangelical pastor and the Catholic archbishop put the word out as widely as they could to their churches, hoping to mobilize 20,000 to walk and pray. Instead, an estimated 230,000 walked in the capital of Tegucigalpa alone. It was a historic moment. And without your past support for ASJ, it may have never happened. After all, two years prior, Pastor Gerardo and Monsignor José didn’t even know each other’s names. They first met in 2023 at ASJ’s offices. They were two of many civil society leaders convened by ASJ to discuss safeguarding democracy– especially before the election in 2025. It was at that meeting that they shook each other’s hand and learned each other’s name. It was at that meeting–and many subsequent meetings–where old religious prejudices began to be replaced by trust and mutual affection. So, when the moment came this summer to act, Pastor Gerardo and Monsignor José knew what they had to do. And they knew that they had to do it together.
Calvin alums turn faith into action through nonprofit
MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Thank You for Moving Forward With Us this Summer!
When Policies Shift, Families Pay the Price * by Jo Ann Van Engen
Inspiring civil society in the US with a vision of a more just society
Dear Friend, On Saturday, hundreds of thousands of Hondurans flooded their streets with prayer and peaceful demonstration. Reports from our team members who attended said it was like an inspirational sea of people all wanting the same thing for their country: peace. One of our ASJ-US colleagues said he walked past Pentecostals dancing and playing music, a woman praying the rosary, nuns walking, and priests and altar boys in full robes–all walking in the same space together for peace.
Love, Labor, and the Price of Leaving By Jo Ann Van Engen
Prayer Update (JUL 16- Election Process Turmoil)
