TWELVE jurors and one alternate were empaneled for the third jury trial of Lili Zhang Tydingco who was accused of harboring a minor alien.
The trial, presided by Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona of the District Court for the NMI, started Wednesday and will continue today, Thursday, July 7 at 8:15 a.m.
Tydingco is represented by attorney Bruce Berline while the federal government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Garth Backe.
Both the defense and prosecution made their opening statements regarding the case.
Backe then called the U.S. government’s first witness, Jesse Dubrall, Department of Public Safety/task force officer, Homeland Security Investigations, to testify at the trial.
At 4:55 p.m., Judge Manglona excused the jurors and instructed them not to discuss the case with anyone and to return to court on July 7 at 7:30 a.m.
In June 2016, Tydingco and her husband, Francisco Muna Tydingco, were convicted of harboring a 10-year-old girl they brought from China in 2013.
The jury found Mrs. Tydingco guilty of harboring an alien and Mr. Tydingco guilty of aiding and abetting his wife.
On Dec. 9, 2016, Mrs. Tydingco was sentenced to 10 months’ imprisonment while Mr. Tydingco was sentenced to 21 months’ imprisonment.
The Tydingcos then appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which remanded their conviction for a new trial. The Ninth Circuit judges said the jury could have convicted the defendants on an invalid theory.
On May 10, 2019, the U.S. government opted not to pursue the charge against Mr. Tydingco, and asked the federal court to dismiss the case against him.
But the U.S. government refiled a superseding indictment against Mrs. Tydingco, charging her with harboring an illegal minor alien.
In September 2019, following two and a half hours of deliberation, jurors found Mrs. Tydingco guilty of one count of harboring a minor alien.
On June 17, 2020, Judge Manglona sentenced Mrs. Tydingco to 90 days’ imprisonment for harboring a minor alien.
The defendant appealed to the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
In February 2022, the Ninth Circuit once again reversed her conviction and remanded the case to the District Court.
