An officer of the Department of Corrections facility, where the parole hearing was held yesterday, told this reporter that the media was not allowed to cover the parole hearing.
The Corrections officer declined to name the official who gave the order.
The officer further said that this reporter was not on the list of family members or visitors that could attend the hearing.
When asked if crime victims were allowed to attend the parole hearing, the officer said it would depend on the decision of the inmates.
The Board of Parole earlier announced that it would be conducting a parole hearing on the applications of Sanito Estrera, Bonifacio M. Camacho, Jing Ming Nan, Shawn C. Appleby, Sayuri Aldan Paulis, Jesus Mafnas Babauta, and Loreto H. Rodriguez at the Corrections facility yesterday.
Estrera, 65, is serving time for sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree.
He was sentenced on March 26, 2009 to a 10-year jail term, all suspended except for six years. He has been an inmate since June 18, 2008.
Rodriguez, 33, was sentenced to five years imprisonment, all suspended except for two years with credit for 27 days already served at the Corrections facility.
Rodriguez pleaded guilty to sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree last year. He is expected to be released from prison on Feb. 17, 2012.
Appleby, then 16, was sentenced to 40 years imprisonment, with a minimum of 10 years to be served.
The agreement contained no specific provision for parole, according to court documents.
Appleby was found guilty of committing robbery-murder in 1997.
The court sentenced Appleby to an additional one year of incarceration for escape.
Paulis is serving time after she admitted hitting a man with her vehicle.
Paulis was sentenced to three years imprisonment, all suspended except for 545 days, with credit for six days already served at Corrections. She started serving her term on Aug. 1, 2010.
Camacho was sentenced to three years after he admitted committing marriage fraud in 2009. He is expected to be released on June 3, 2012.
Ming Nan Jin, 39, received the maximum sentence of 10 years after he stabbed a businessman in March 2007.
Babauta, 33, was sentenced to five years imprisonment, all suspended except for eight months with credit for time served.
Babauta pleaded guilty to forgery, and theft by unlawful taking.
The court said Babauta’s first six months would be served concurrently with his six-month jail term in federal prison.
The remaining two months would be served at the CNMI Corrections facility.
Babauta was released from federal prison on Jan. 20, 2011.
