By Bryan Manabat
[email protected]
Variety News Staff
FOLLOWING closing arguments Monday afternoon, Superior Court Associate Judge Kenneth L. Govendo told jurors he will deliver instructions for deliberations Tuesday morning in the sexual abuse trial of Justin Diaz, 40.
Diaz is charged with second-degree sexual abuse of a minor and disturbing the peace.
In his closing argument, Chief Prosecutor Chester Hinds urged jurors to rely on the evidence presented at trial.
“We’re asking you to believe the evidence,” Hinds said. “The evidence in this case shows that [the victim] was sexually abused on the night of Aug. 22, 2023. Her statements at the outset were clear and unequivocal. She told numerous entities — the police, her ex-boyfriend — and the DNA evidence corroborates her account. It’s kind of like a witness. We don’t have a camera, but the DNA is like our witness to what happened that night.”
Assistant Public Defender Emily Thomsen, however, argued that the alleged victim fabricated the accusations to escape a strict home environment.
“She wanted to get away from [Diaz], her possessive and controlling boyfriend, and school,” Thomsen said. “By August 2023, she couldn’t take it anymore. She felt trapped and wanted out. She talked about suicide. Complaining about the strict [defendant] and controlling boyfriend wasn’t enough, so she made up a story about [Diaz] sexually abusing her.”
Thomsen said the girl attempted to recant while in Guam by contacting the Office of the Attorney General.
“They said they would call her back, but they never did,” Thomsen said. “When she moved back to Saipan, she wrote a letter taking everything back and admitting it was a lie. She gave it to me because the prosecutor wouldn’t talk to her, but it was too late. Now it’s up to you to decide whether the Commonwealth has proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Outside the presence of the jury, Judge Govendo denied the defense’s motion for acquittal.
Chief Public Defender Douglas Hartig argued that the prosecution’s primary evidence consisted of hearsay — out-of-court statements by the alleged victim offered for impeachment purposes.
“Without that statement to DYS officers, this is not a case upon which reasonable jurors could differ and find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt,” Hartig said.
Hinds countered that a motion for acquittal may be granted only if there is no evidence upon which a reasonable person could conclude the defendant is guilty. He said the government presented testimony from the victim, responding police officers, and a nurse, all of whom testified that the girl said Diaz sexually abused her.
“I understand the forensic interview is inadmissible as substantive evidence and may be used only for impeachment,” Hinds said. “But that impeachment was important because it contradicted her statements here in court. On top of that, we presented DNA evidence from the victim’s underwear worn that night.”
Earlier in the trial, the alleged victim recanted her accusations, telling jurors she lied when she previously claimed that the defendant sexually assaulted her. When asked directly whether Diaz sexually abused her, she replied, “No.”
According to the prosecution, on the night of Aug. 22, 2023, Diaz entered the bedroom of the alleged victim, then 14, while the household was asleep and touched her inappropriately.
The girl testified that Diaz was strict and did not allow her to go out or spend time with her boyfriend. On the day she made the accusation, she said she was emotional over her boyfriend and worried she might be pregnant. She said she lied to the examiner who evaluated her at the Commonwealth Health Center.
The prosecution sought to impeach her by introducing prior statements, including a recorded forensic interview in which she alleged Diaz sexually assaulted her. The girl also acknowledged writing a letter to defense counsel stating her previous allegations were false. She said she was not pressured or forced to write the letter.
Government witnesses included police officers involved in the investigation, Division of Youth Services forensic interviewers, the girl’s former boyfriend, her mother, and an FBI expert.
The jury trial began March 2. According to the original complaint, the case surfaced after a 14-year-old boy reported to police that his girlfriend was contemplating suicide and said she had been sexually abused by Diaz.
The girl later told Division of Youth Services and Child Protective Services personnel that the alleged Aug. 22 incident was not the first time Diaz had sexually abused her and that she did not feel safe around him. She said she confided in her boyfriend because she was afraid to contact police and wanted to harm herself. She was examined by a sexual-assault nurse examiner and admitted to the pediatric ward for her safety.
Chief Prosecutor Chester Hinds and Assistant Attorney General Frances Demapan are representing the government. Diaz is represented by Chief Public Defender Douglas Hartig and Assistant Public Defender Emily Thomsen.
Bryan Manabat was a liberal arts student of Northern Marianas College where he also studied criminal justice. He is the recipient of the NMI Humanities Award as an Outstanding Teacher (Non-Classroom) in 2013, and has worked for the CNMI Motheread/Fatheread Literacy Program as lead facilitator.
