A Japanese court on Friday charged three former soldiers with sexually assaulting a female colleague who is suing the government for failing to prevent the acts, local media reported.
Rina Gonoi, 23, publicly denounced being assaulted by several male colleagues in 2022 after an investigation into her allegations was dropped due to insufficient evidence.
Prosecutors’ decision on Friday in the Fukushima area, where Ms Gonoi was previously deployed, marks a reversal from their initial conclusion of not filing charges.
A spokesman for prosecutors told AFP it was not possible to confirm the decision over the phone.
“Today the three people were charged with sexual assault against me…I finally feel like (my efforts) paid off as I was in pain every day,” Ms Gonoi wrote on Twitter.
“I want them to realize that what they did was a crime and atone for their sin,” she added.
In February, Ms Gonoi told AFP that three colleagues threw her to the ground, spread her braces and took turns pressing her crotch against her during a drill in 2021, an incident she reported to her superiors.
However, an internal investigation concluded that the evidence was insufficient and it was only after his revelations and the filing of a petition that the file was reopened and a criminal investigation launched.
After posting her allegations via video on YouTube in June, more than 100,000 people signed a petition calling for an independent investigation, which she filed with Japan’s defense ministry in August.
The ministry has since acknowledged the attack and apologized.
For Ms. Gonoi, who had dreamed of joining the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSF) since childhood, speaking publicly about the inaction surrounding her attack was an agonizing decision.
“It was a last resort,” she told AFP, saying she was “more desperate than brave.”
The former soldier is also suing the government and perpetrators for the “shallow” apologies and abuse she received.