By Bryan Manabat
[email protected]
Variety News Staff
SUPERIOR Court Associate Judge Lillian A. Tenorio on Thursday accepted the guilty plea of Ichitaro Dustin Faisao, 33, who admitted to sexually assaulting a minor who was intoxicated and under the influence of marijuana.
Tenorio sentenced Faisao to 15 years in prison, all suspended except for five years to serve, followed by 10 years of probation. He must register as a sex offender and complete 500 hours of community work service. He was awarded 185 days of credit for time served.
During the change‑of‑plea hearing, Faisao was represented by Assistant Public Defender Emily Thomsen, while Assistant Attorney General Frances Demapan appeared for the government.
The case stems from an incident on May 31, 2025, in which a 16‑year‑old girl was brought to the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation emergency room after suffering a severe reaction to marijuana. Emergency physician Dr. Jeremy Baird told investigators the girl disclosed she had smoked marijuana with a man she met through the online game Mobile Legends and later became too impaired to resist when he sexually assaulted her.
The girl identified the man as Faisao, whom she had met two months earlier. She told investigators she lost focus, her throat became dry, and she was unable to speak after smoking marijuana with him. She said Faisao told her, “I know something that can sober you up,” before climbing over the passenger seat and assaulting her.
Court documents do not explain why charges were filed more than six months after the incident was reported. Faisao was later charged with second‑degree sexual assault and disturbing the peace.
In a separate matter, Judge Tenorio also found that Faisao violated probation in an earlier case and sentenced him to six months in prison, a term that will run concurrently with the five‑year sentence he must serve in the new case.
According to the Department of Public Safety, Faisao had previously been arrested in 2021 on allegations of sexually abusing three minors.
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.
