By Bryan Manabat
bryan@mvariety.com
Variety News Staff
ON Dec. 23, 2025, the CNMI Supreme Court denied the Office of the Attorney General’s petition for a writ of mandamus in the case of Willie Carnell Frink, 42, a steward supervisor of a maritime prepositioning ship accused of sexually assaulting a female crewmember in November 2022.
In its order, Chief Justice Alexandro Castro and Associate Justices John Manglona and Perry Inos wrote: “The trial court did not commit clear error in ordering the Commonwealth to personally serve Frink with the 2023 order or in quashing the arrest warrant and requiring the Commonwealth to obtain a new one. Absent a showing of clear error, we are foreclosed from granting mandamus relief. We therefore DENY the Commonwealth’s petition for a writ of mandamus.”
The Office of the Attorney General argued that the trial court abused its discretion when it quashed the arrest warrant originally used to detain Frink and required the Commonwealth to obtain a new warrant. The trial court had also ordered the Commonwealth to personally serve Frink with the order finding probable cause.
In their ruling, the justices emphasized that writs of mandamus are extraordinary remedies granted only when clear error is shown. They noted that arrest warrants, once executed, generally cannot be reused, meaning the Commonwealth would have been required to seek a new warrant regardless of the trial court’s order.
The case has been marked by procedural delays. After initially hearing testimony from an investigating officer, the Superior Court dismissed the charges, concluding there was insufficient evidence to detain Frink for trial. Prosecutors appealed, and in 2023 the Supreme Court vacated the dismissal and reinstated the charges, allowing the case to proceed.
In February 2024, Presiding Judge Roberto C. Naraja took under advisement the defense’s motion to quash the arrest warrant. Frink, who waived his appearance, was represented by attorney Colin Thompson, while Chief Prosecutor Chester Hinds appeared for the government.
Nearly a year later, Assistant Attorney General Frances Demapan filed a motion urging Judge Naraja to issue a ruling or hold a status conference. Demapan noted that the delay had negatively impacted the prosecution, affecting witness availability and memory of events.
According to the complaint, the victim told police she and Frink were co-workers and that he was her supervisor. On Nov. 11, 2022, she said Frink invited her to swim at a hotel pool, where they consumed alcoholic drinks. After two rum and Cokes, she said she began feeling dizzy, nauseous, and shaky.
The victim said Frink later took her to a hotel room he had rented. She showered, vomited, and lay down due to dizziness. Frink offered her a massage, placed his hands on her shoulders, and, despite her attempts to resist, laid her down and rubbed lotion on her back. She said she tried to squirm away, but Frink held her down and told her to “just relax.”
She reported that she began to black out and that “all of a sudden Frink was having sexual intercourse with her without her consent.”
With the CNMI Supreme Court’s denial of mandamus relief, the case now returns to the Superior Court, where the motion to quash the arrest warrant remains pending.
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.
