FOLLOWING an evidentiary hearing on Monday, Superior Court Judge Pro Tem Eleyze Iriarte granted William Abraczinskas’s request for a new trial based on newly discovered evidence.
Ruling from the bench, Judge Iriarte said, “The evidence is material as part of the five-prong test — it could have influenced the jury if introduced at trial, and it would have affected the credibility of the victim.”
At the hearing, Abraczinskas, through his attorney Richard Miller, also requested to be placed on pre-trial release at a hotel.
Judge Iriarte scheduled a status conference for Thursday, June 26, at 11:45 a.m. to determine new trial dates and to consider whether Abraczinskas will be released to a hotel under conditions and curfew. She proposed July 21, August 11, or a date in September for the new trial to begin.
Chief Prosecutor Chester Hinds and Assistant Attorney General Frances T. Demapan are prosecuting the case.
Among others, the prosecution called Judge Kenneth L. Govendo, CNMI Judiciary Human Resources Officer Michelle Guerrero, DPS Detective Shannon Dela Cruz, and DPS Officer Hector Efraim to testify regarding their interactions with the victim following the alleged assault.
Demapan earlier opposed the defense’s motion for a new trial and urged the court to deny it. She argued that the defense offered no credible explanation as to why the alleged “new” evidence could not have been discovered prior to trial through reasonable diligence.
Abraczinskas, 36, was found guilty by a jury on Sept. 13, 2024, of sexual assault in the first degree, assault and battery, and disturbing the peace.
He was scheduled to be sentenced on April 28, 2025, but on that same day, his attorney filed a motion for a new trial based on newly discovered evidence.
Miller said the new evidence will show that the victim lied when she testified that she was raped.
The evidence, Miller added, involves “personal knowledge of relevant conversations sometime after April 8, 2023, and before the case was in the news, between the victim and a judicial clerk who assisted the trial judge during and after the trial.”
According to Miller, on April 24, 2025, the defense received a tip that judicial clerk Eva Calvo possessed exculpatory evidence based on conversations she had with the victim.
(Exculpatory evidence is favorable to a defendant in a criminal trial, as it may help prove innocence or reduce culpability.)
Calvo, represented by attorney Charity Hodson, testified at Monday’s hearing.
