Why prosecutors dropped charge against man accused of sexually assaulting Bluffton child
Prosecutors dropped a criminal charge against a man accused of sexual assaulting a child in Bluffton over a five-year period, according to court documents.
On Tuesday, 14th Circuit Assistant Solicitor Julie Kate Keeney dismissed the warrant against Francisco Cardona, 58, of Hardeeville.
Bluffton Police had accused Cardona of sexually assaulting a child, starting when she was 6, several times over the course of five years.
An arrest warrant states Cardona used “physical force and verbal threats of violence.”
They occurred at a Bluffton residence between 2009 and 2013. It wasn’t reported to police until August 2019.
The child “did not fully understand what had happened to her at the time and only realized the true magnitude of the sexual assaults as she got older,” according to a Bluffton Police report.
Cardona was booked into the Beaufort County Detention Center on Jan. 9, 2020.
Keeney, the prosecutor, wrote that the victim would not testify at trial, and prosecutors would not be able to make a case without that testimony.
Anna Zweede, director of domestic violence/sexual assault services at Beaufort County-based Hopeful Horizons, said the court system can be extremely intimidating for victims of sexual assault. They also may not want to relive the trauma.
“Having to go back 10 years to that really dark period is emotionally very hard,” Zweede said. “To answer questions over and over regarding what’s happened and not really being able to move beyond that.”
She also acknowledged the hurdles prosecution faces to prove those cases.
“There’s not usually a whole lot of witnesses for sexual assault and domestic violence,” she said. “It does seem to have a harder time moving forward when prosecution does not have the victim to testify.”
For victims of sexual abuse or domestic violence or loved ones of those affected, Hopeful Horizons has a 24/7 line with resources and support for crisis intervention: 843-770-1070. More information at hopefulhorizons.org.
This story was originally published May 20, 2021 at 3:25 PM.
