By Bryan Manabat
bryan@mvariety.com
Variety News Staff
DIVING instructor William Saron Capayas, who pled guilty to possessing child pornography, will be sentenced in federal court on June 26 at 9 a.m.
At a change-of-plea hearing on Jan. 16, Capayas, represented by attorney Richard Miller, entered a guilty plea to one count of possession of child pornography.
District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona found Capayas fully competent to enter a knowing and voluntary plea and found him guilty of the offense.
Judge Manglona vacated the scheduled jury trial for Feb. 10 and unsealed the plea agreement.
According to the plea agreement, Capayas acknowledged that pleading guilty could have consequences for his immigration status, as he is not a U.S. citizen. The agreement also stated that Capayas knowingly possessed materials depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
The court allowed him to remain released until sentencing. Possession of child pornography is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, fines of about $25,000 plus special assessments, and five years of supervised release.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Garth Backe represented the federal government. Capayas was arrested on Nov. 18 after federal prosecutors filed a complaint accusing him of possessing child sexual abuse material on his Apple iPad.
On Dec. 4, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Capayas with one count of possession of child pornography and seeking forfeiture of property allegedly used to commit the offense. According to the indictment, Capayas “knowingly possessed material that contained images of child pornography” that had been mailed, shipped, or transported through interstate or foreign commerce, including by computer. The indictment also seeks forfeiture of any property used to facilitate the alleged crime.
FBI Special Agent Richard Bauer stated that the case began on Oct. 6, when a witness identified as C1 reported meeting Capayas during a scuba diving trip in Saipan. Capayas allegedly asked the witness to repair a malfunctioning device. While attempting to back up the iPad’s photo files, C1 reportedly saw two images he recognized as child sexual abuse material. He stopped the download and contacted the FBI.
Bauer obtained a search warrant and confirmed the device belonged to Capayas. A forensic review allegedly uncovered 149 images of child sexual abuse material and 14 images depicting bestiality. Bauer said there is probable cause that Capayas violated Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 2252(a)(4)(B).
During an Oct. 31 interview, Capayas admitted owning the iPad and said he used it primarily to access the internet and view pornography. He told investigators he was the only person with access to the device.
“Capayas admitted that aside from viewing adult pornography, he also viewed and saved videos of children as young as 3 or 4 years old,” Bauer wrote. “He kept the material because he found it to be ‘different.’”
Bryan Manabat was a liberal arts student of Northern Marianas College where he also studied criminal justice. He is the recipient of the NMI Humanities Award as an Outstanding Teacher (Non-Classroom) in 2013, and has worked for the CNMI Motheread/Fatheread Literacy Program as lead facilitator.
