SUPERIOR Court Judge Pro Tem Elyze M. Iriarte will hold an evidentiary hearing today, Monday, at 10 a.m. in the case of William Abraczinskas, who is requesting a new trial based on newly discovered evidence.
Judge Iriarte also granted Abraczinskas’ motion to appear at the hearing in civilian clothes and without restraints.
“The defendant shall not be shackled while being transported into or out of the courthouse, or while present in the courtroom, unless the court is informed of a security concern that would justify such restraints,” the judge stated in an order issued on Friday.
She directed the appropriate authorities, including court security and custodial personnel, to make the necessary arrangements.
Abraczinskas, 36, was found guilty by a jury on Sept. 13, 2024, of sexual assault in the first degree, assault and battery, and disturbing the peace.
He was scheduled to be sentenced on April 28, 2025, but on that same day, his attorney filed a motion for a new trial on the grounds of newly discovered evidence.
Attorney Richard Miller, who represents the defendant, said new evidence discovered by the defense will show that the victim lied when she testified at trial that she was raped.
The new evidence, Miller said, involves “personal knowledge of relevant conversations sometime after April 8, 2023, and before the case was in the news, between the victim and a judicial clerk who has been assisting the trial judge during and after the trial.”
According to Miller, on April 24, 2025, the defense received a tip that judicial clerk Eva Calvo possessed exculpatory evidence based on conversations she had had with the victim.
Exculpatory evidence is favorable to a defendant in a criminal trial, as it may help prove their innocence or reduce their culpability.
The defense has subpoenaed the judicial clerk to testify at the evidentiary hearing.
During the trial, Abraczinskas was represented by the Public Defender’s Office.
In a recent declaration filed in court, Chief Public Defender Douglas Hartig stated, “No information in the Commonwealth’s discovery suggested that Eva Calvo had information material to this case.”
“To the best of my recollection, her name did not appear in the Commonwealth’s discovery, and no information we received from witnesses we interviewed indicated that Eva Calvo might have information material to this case,” Hartig added.
The prosecution, among others, called Judge Kenneth L. Govendo, CNMI Judiciary Human Resources Officer Michelle Guerrero, DPS Detective Shannon Dela Cruz, and DPS Officer Hector Efraim to testify regarding their interactions with the victim following the assault.
Assistant Attorney General Frances T. Demapan has opposed the defense’s motion for a new trial and has asked the court to deny the request. She said the defense provides no credible explanation for why the alleged “new” evidence could not have been discovered prior to trial through the exercise of reasonable diligence.
Citing Commonwealth Rule of Evidence 615, Demapan said the defense should not be allowed to call Calvo as a witness.
“This rule is intended to prevent witnesses from tailoring their testimony and to promote truthfulness by ensuring testimony is based on the witness’s own knowledge, not the testimony of others. In this case, Ms. Calvo sat through the entire trial as the assigned courtroom clerk and heard testimony from all of the Commonwealth’s witnesses, including the victim. Allowing Ms. Calvo to testify goes directly against the rule of sequestration, which serves to discourage fabrication and improper influence at trial,” the prosecutor said.
