THE Office of the Attorney General has asked the Superior Court to reconsider its order allowing Kenneth Thomas Blas Kaipat, 19, to be placed under house arrest after a jury convicted him of rape and other charges.
Kaipat, who was 15 at the time of the incident, was charged with three counts of sexual assault in the first degree, two counts of sexual assault in the second degree, aggravated assault and battery, assault with a dangerous weapon, strangulation, and burglary.
The jurors found him guilty on all counts.
On Monday, Chief Solicitor J. Robert Glass Jr. filed a motion for reconsideration.
He noted that Kaipat was “duly convicted of numerous serious felony charges including sexual assault in the first degree (a felony carrying up to 30 years in prison) and various serious bodily injury felonies.”
Glass said at the conclusion of the jury trial, “the Commonwealth asked for defendant to be remanded into the custody of the Department of Corrections to await sentencing. Defendant opposed, and the court granted house arrest to defendant.”
According to Glass, the court failed to follow 6 CMC § 6402 (b) which states: “After conviction bail may be allowed only if a stay of execution of the sentence has been granted and only in the exercise of discretion by a court authorized to order a stay or by a judge thereof.”
Bail after conviction is not a right, Glass added.
“The Commonwealth Legislature has restricted such discretion of the trial court to only those instances where a stay of the execution of the sentence has been granted. Rule 38 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure also required a sentence of imprisonment, a fine, or probation before a stay of execution may be granted,” Glass said.
“Here, no sentencing has occurred and thus, the sentence itself cannot be stayed,” he added.
“The court-ordered house arrest, which defendant will no doubt argue, counts towards future jail time credit. Because the Court did not order a stay of execution of the sentence and could not make such an order without first sentencing defendant, defendant has been impermissibly released. He should be immediately remanded into custody,” Glass said.
Associate Judge Wesley Bogdan scheduled a hearing on the motion to reconsider for Aug. 17 at 10 am.
Kaipat’s trial began on Aug. 7 and concluded on Aug. 11. Assistant Attorney General Steven Kessell was the lead prosecutor with AAG Heather Barcinas as his co-counsel. Kaipat was represented by attorney Brien Sers Nicholas.
The case against Kaipat stemmed from an incident that occurred in a San Vicente home four years ago.
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 24-year-old woman was raped and seriously hurt. Kaipat, for his part, claimed he was assaulted in a separate incident.
In June 2020, the defendant was arrested and taken into juvenile custody after DPS received a DNA laboratory test report from the FBI.
He was released on April 15, 2021, after five bail hearings based on special consideration given to juveniles.
