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A US Air Force sergeant has made a shocking accusation of rape against a fellow service member in a viral TikTok video after she said she was let down by civilian authorities investigating the incident.
Kacie Suchanek, 23, said she decided to share her story online after law enforcement failed to thoroughly investigate the October incident.
Suchanek, who is stationed at the 125th Fighter Wing in the Jacksonville, Florida Air National Guard, said she had recently moved to the post and was trying to meet new friends.
After meeting her attacker at his off-base apartment, where two other people were present, Suchanek said she was brutally raped and beaten.
‘He started hitting me with open fists. I couldn’t hear out of my left ear for two days. And when I brought myself out of that disassociation state I was in, I got up and started putting my clothes on,’ she told DailyMail.com.
‘He rolled over and pretended to fall asleep. I couldn’t believe that you would do that to someone and then go to sleep so peacefully.’
Suchanek said last month she was told by the Duval County State Attorney’s Office and Prosecution Office that despite providing a rape kit, photos of her ripped-out hair and bruises and three witness statements, the case was unlikely to be moved to court.
She said she was advised to accept a plea deal that would have seen her attacker’s felony sexual battery charges downgraded to a misdemeanor.
Kacie Suchanek, 23, said she decided to share her story online after law enforcement failed to thoroughly investigate the incident October incident
Suchanek, who is stationed at the 125th Fighter Wing in the Jacksonville, Florida Air National Guard, said she had recently moved to the post and was trying to meet new friends. After meeting her attacker at his off-base apartment, where two other people were present, Suchanek said she was brutally raped and beaten
Because the attack happened off-base, and she is on duty while the alleged attacker is a technician on reserve, the case was handled by civilian law enforcement.
Suchanek had just moved to that post and says she was trying to make friends.
After sending a ‘friend’ request to her attacker on Facebook, she agreed to come to a get-together at his apartment, which two other people attended.
Once inside the apartment, the man shoved his hand down her pants in front of the two other people, she said.
‘I tied to stop it. I was confused as to why he was doing so, especially so publicly,’ she recalled.
Suchanek said all four of the attendees went to the pool of her alleged attacker’s building, where he smacked her buttocks. When they returned upstairs, he grabbed her hand and led her to his bedroom.
‘As soon as he closed the door, he became aggressive towards me. Shoved me down to my knees and forced me to perform oral sex. He continued to vaginally and anally penetrate me. I was able to get myself out of the bed and out the room,’ Suchanek said.
Because the attack happened off-base and she is on duty but he attacker is a technician on reserve, the case has been handled by civilian law enforcement
Suchanek said that she was in a state of shock and panic and did not want to engage in the actions.
‘As soon as I sat down [on the couch], he tried to shove his hands down my pants again. And I told him no and he got angry. He went to the bedroom door again and grabbed me by the back of my neck and threw me at the wall,’ Suchanek told DailyMail.com.
‘Nobody came inside. That’s when I realized that I was going to have to fight for myself again. This one time was very aggressive.’
Suchanek said she was left covered in bruises and couldn’t hear out of her left ear for two days after the brutal attack.
After she ran outside the apartment, one of the two people at the reunion followed her and called her best friend, Anthony Hauser.
Hauser also called a female superior who went to his apartment and spoke with Suchanek, convincing her to go to a clinic and get a rape kit.
‘After talking with her, I decided it was be the best idea. I am so thankful she convinced me. I wouldn’t have been able to stand this case otherwise,’ Suchanek said.
After she ran outside the apartment, one of the two people at the reunion followed her and called her best friend, Anthony Hauser (pictured). Two weeks after she was assaulted, Suchanek also lost Hauser, who she said was a pivotal support in the aftermath of her traumatic experience. He died of an overdose
Two weeks after she was assaulted, Suchanek also lost Hauser, who she said was a pivotal support in the aftermath of her traumatic experience.
He died of an overdose.
‘He felt a lot of guilt for not being there that night. For not being able to protect me and get me out of that situation. He was really struggling with it and his divorce,’ Suchanek said.
‘His support to me meant more than anything in this world.’
Suchanek said she initially received support from the National Guard, and spent three months receiving treatment at inpatient and outpatient facilities in Texas.
However, she said that upon returning to Florida in April, she has had a setback in her recovery.
Suchanek said she has not received psychological treatment in two months and had to seek medication from a civilian provider after she ran out of it and did not take it for a week.
Suchanek said she has not received psychological treatment in two months and had to seek medication from a civilian provider after she ran out of it and did not take it for a week
According to Suchanek, the Duval County State Attorney’s Office has reached out to her seven times within the past 24 hours, after her video went viral
According to Suchanek, the Duval County State Attorney’s Office has reached out to her seven times within the past 24 hours, after her video went viral.
Before that, she had been told that her only option to get justice was agreeing to downgrade her attacker’s felony charges to a misdemeanor.
‘It was never an option before I [posted the video]. Now it’s an option because they are afraid. And that is one of the things i wanted to put the pressure on them to do better and to think twice before dismissing these cases,’ Suchanek said.
‘Every sexual assault survivor who has enough courage to report in the first place, deserves their day in trial to fight for justice despite the outcome.’
Suchanek said she is ready to fight not only to obtain justice for her but for many other military and civilian assault victims who have been let down by the legal system.
‘I’m not going stop until I see changes, even after my case is done. I am going to advocate for any person that needs it,’ she said.
A spokesman for the Florida National Guard, confirmed to Task & Purpose that Suchanek had filed the sexual assault reports.
‘The 125th Fighter Wing has provided continuous assistance, using all available resources, since being informed of the assault in October 2021,’ Manely said.
‘We continue to work with the victim on all aspects of this case including finding a compatible transfer. In order to protect the victim, the suspect was moved to a geographically separated unit and given a ‘no contact order’ with the victim. We continue to monitor the progress of the suspect’s civilian case.’
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