Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona of the District Court for the NMI has taken under advisement a renewed motion for compassionate release filed by Chang Ru Meng Backman, who is serving a 19-year federal sentence for sex trafficking.
Backman, 53, is incarcerated at FCI Waseca in Minnesota and is scheduled for release in December 2029. In her petition, filed through attorney Joseph Horey, she argues she has served over three-quarters of her sentence and now faces “extraordinary and compelling” circumstances warranting early release.
Her motion cites her experience as a survivor of sexual abuse at the now-closed Federal Correctional Institution Dublin, where she was verbally sexually harassed by a correctional officer. FCI Dublin is currently under federal investigation and is the subject of a class action lawsuit and multiple criminal prosecutions. Backman is a certified class member in California Coalition for Women Prisoners v. United States, which alleges systemic abuse, retaliation, and inadequate medical care.
A letter submitted by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who presides over the class action, describes FCI Dublin as a facility where inmates endured “harder time” due to pervasive abuse, lack of medical care, and retaliation for reporting misconduct.
Backman also cites chronic knee pain, respiratory issues, and limited access to medical treatment. She has completed numerous educational and rehabilitative programs and is assessed as low-risk for recidivism. Horey wrote that Backman “has come to understand the vulnerability of the women she once exploited” and that her experience as a victim has changed her perspective. Her motion includes letters of support and a proposed post-release plan involving housing, employment, and family reunification.
To support the request, Horey filed exhibits from the California Coalition for Women Prisoners and documentation of Backman’s attempts to obtain eye medication.
This is Backman’s second compassionate release request. Her first, filed in 2021 on COVID-19 grounds, was denied.
Government opposition
Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric O’Malley urged the court to deny the motion, arguing Backman’s claims “do not constitute extraordinary and compelling reasons” for release. He noted the court previously rejected Backman’s 2021 petition, which cited COVID-19 and a need to care for elderly parents; at that time, the court observed contradictions in her claims about family health.
O’Malley argued that Backman’s current petition again presents contradictions, referencing caregiving responsibilities for her son and husband on Saipan, elderly parents in China, and a proposed move to New York for work.
“By now, the Court is well acquainted with Defendant, the severity of her conduct, the reason she deserves the sentence imposed, and her duplicity,” O’Malley wrote. “Even if Defendant’s current allegations were credible, justice still requires that she serve her full sentence.”
Case background
Backman was convicted in June 2013 following a jury trial and sentenced to 235 months in prison for sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion. Prosecutors said she operated the Holiday Karaoke Club on Saipan and coerced a vulnerable Chinese woman into commercial sex acts for financial gain. Backman allegedly lured the woman to Saipan with false promises of work, then
used debt, undocumented status, and lack of English proficiency to force her into prostitution. She also transported the woman to and from the bar to facilitate the acts.
Judge Manglona heard arguments on Dec. 11 and has taken the matter under advisement.
