SUPERIOR Court Presiding Judge Roberto C. Naraja will continue the hearing today on the renewed request of the Office of the Attorney General to transfer the sexual assault case of a 17-year-old defendant to adult court.
The alleged incident occurred in a San Vicente home in 2019 when the defendant was 16 years old.
The hearing regarding the transfer request to adult court started Friday. As the case was still in juvenile court, court proceedings, including filings and motions of the case, were closed to the public.
In November 2020, Judge Naraja denied a similar request from the AG’s office when the defendant was turning 17 years old.
Variety also learned that CNMI court rules allow a judge to appoint a mental health professional — e.g. a psychiatrist — to conduct a social study of the juvenile defendant and assist the court in deciding whether the juvenile defendant should be treated as an adult for the purpose of criminal prosecution.
The study will look into numerous factors, including seriousness of the crime, maturity of the defendant, family stability, mental health, schooling, and available juvenile services.
On June 2, 2019, the Department of Public Safety said it responded to a “home invasion incident” and a “disturbance” in San Vicente where a woman was seriously hurt.
DPS said a woman was seriously hurt in the home invasion incident.
A year later, the juvenile suspect was arrested and charged with sexual assault, assault with a dangerous weapon, strangulation, and burglary.
The court imposed a $250,000 cash bail on the defendant, and appointed the public defender’s office to represent him.
According to the AG’s office, there was delay in the arrest of the defendant because DNA had to be tested first by the Federal Bureau of Investigation at its laboratory in Quantico.
