$50K bail each for men who allegedly raped minor

The Superior Court has imposed a $50,000 cash bail each on two men who are being accused of raping a minor at a beach in Susupe.

Superior Court Associate Judge Wesley Bogdan imposed Tuesday a $50,000 cash bail each on Tim Onopey, 25, and Frankie Rettanlug, 27, who allegedly raped a 17-year-old girl last May 29, at the beach area near Guma Sakman. The two men are facing charges of sexual assault in the first degree.

The defendants were remanded back to Department of Corrections custody after they failed to post bail and were ordered to return to court on June 8 at 10am for a preliminary hearing. Bogdan also scheduled the men for an arraignment on June 13 at 9am.

Chief Prosecutor Chester Hinds appeared for the government while assistant public defender Karie Comstock appeared for Rettanlug. The court said it will appoint a defense counsel for Onopey.

According to court documents, Onopey allegedly gave the minor a beer before repeatedly asking her to swim with him. The victim said she accepted the beer and eventually agreed to go swimming.

She told police that she and Onopey swam to the buoy and that’s when Onopey allegedly started sexually assaulting her. The 17-year-old told police she tried to move away from Onopey but every time she did, he would pull her back. The victim said she repeatedly asked Onopey to stop, to no avail.

After the alleged sexual assault, the victim said they swam to shore but she was afraid to get help because Onopey was still in the area.

While on the shore, the minor said she laid down to rest because she was very dizzy and felt like she was going to faint; she eventually fell asleep.

When she woke up, she said Rettanlug approached her and asked what happened to her and Onopey and then invited her to go closer to the shoreline. When she refused, the victim said Rettanlug dragged her to the beach where Rettanlug sexually assaulted her. The victim said she managed to get away from him but he grabbed her legs and dragged her back so she kicked water in his face, which caused him to stop.

When she got away, she said she went to where there were people she could talk to about the incident.

In a separate statement to police, Rettanlug allegedly admitted to sexually assaulting the minot and that he knew she was 17 years old because he overheard Onopey asking her how old she was.