David Frahm
DAVID Matthew Frahm, a former Marianas High School music teacher, on Tuesday pled guilty to possessing child pornography and engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places.
Finding the defendant fully competent to enter a knowing and voluntary plea, Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona of the District Court for the NMI accepted his guilty plea.
Judge Manglona scheduled the sentencing hearing for Dec. 13 at 1:30 p.m. and unsealed the plea agreement.
Frahm, 46, appeared via video teleconference and was represented by attorney Richard Miller, who requested an expedited pre-sentencing report.
According to the plea agreement, Frahm and the U.S. government agreed that he will be sentenced to 156 months or 11 years.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands agrees to not bring any additional charges against Frahm pursuant to the plea agreement.
The U.S. government dismissed the attempted exploitation of a child charge.
U.S. Assistant Attorney Eric O’Malley represented the federal government.
According to the factual basis and statement of facts:
“On or about March 27, 2019, in the District of the Northern Mariana Islands, defendant knowingly possessed a laptop computer, which contained a visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
“Defendant did so knowing the computer contained a visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, specifically, a picture of a lascivious exhibition…of a minor.
“The visual depiction was transported through a means or facility of interstate and foreign commerce, specifically, by using the laptop computer to transport the digital file in interstate commerce, from Ukraine, where the visual depiction was created, to the District of the Northern Mariana Islands….
“In or about February 2024, defendant was residing in a foreign country, specifically, in Malaysia.
“On or about February 1, 2024, defendant knowingly and intentionally produced a visual depiction by video of an eleven-year-old child that was a lascivious exhibition…specifically, by surreptitiously video recording the child after taking a shower.
“To make the recording. defendant used his mobile device that was capable of connecting to the internet, and which was an instrumentality that was transported in foreign commerce, specifically, an Android cellular telephone that was not manufactured in the country of Malaysia.”
In Langkawi, Malaysia, he was charged with sexually harassing an 11-year-old girl, who was his neighbor. He was sentenced to three months in prison after pleading guilty to possessing child pornographic material. The prison sentence counted the days when he was first arrested on Feb. 15.
On June 6, Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Richard J. Bauer served Frahm with an arrest warrant in Malaysia. The warrant was issued by Designated Judge David O. Carter in February.
Frahm was extradited to Saipan early in June.
