THE Office of the Attorney General-Criminal Division has asked the Superior Court to hold a hearing or make a ruling on the defense motion to quash the arrest warrant for Willie Carnell Frink, 42, a steward supervisor of a maritime prepositioning ship, who was arrested in November 2022 after being accused of sexually assaulting a female crewmember.
Initially, after hearing testimony from an investigating officer at a preliminary hearing, the Superior Court concluded that there was insufficient evidence to detain Frink for trial, and dismissed all charges. The prosecution then filed a petition in the CNMI Supreme Court, requesting an order reinstating the charge.
In 2023, the CNMI Supreme Court vacated the Superior Court’s dismissal and reinstated the charge against Frink, allowing the prosecution to continue.
In February 2024, Presiding Judge Roberto C. Naraja placed under advisement the defense motion to quash the arrest warrant for Frink.
At that hearing, Frink, who waived his appearance, was represented by attorney Colin Thompson while Chief Prosecutor Chester Hinds appeared for the government.
In a recent motion, Assistant Attorney General Frances Demapan urged Judge Naraja to issue a ruling on the pending motion or hold a status conference hearing.
“Nearly one year ago, the parties appeared before the Court on February 12, 2024, and made oral arguments on the defendant’s Motion to Quash Arrest Warrant. The Court subsequently took the matter under advisement. As of the date of this filing, the court has not issued a decision on the pending motion, nor has the Court responded to the Commonwealth’s earlier Motion to Set Status Conference filed on September 17, 2024,” the prosecutor said.
“This delay has negatively impacted the Commonwealth’s prosecution of this case, such as affecting the availability of witnesses at trial and the ability of witnesses to recall what happened on or about November 11, 2022,” Demapan said.
The complaint
According to the complaint, the victim told police that she and Frink were co-workers and that he was her supervisor.
She said that on Nov. 11, 2022, around 1 p.m., she hung out with Frink and later went swimming at a hotel.
According to the victim, Frink told her that he rented a room at another hotel where they could hang out together.
She said while swimming, she and Frink drank alcoholic beverages in the pool bar area.
She told investigators that because it was happy hour, Frink bought her rum and Coke. After the second drink she said she started feeling very dizzy, nauseous, and shaky.
She said she was not feeling good when they went to the hotel room that Frink rented. She said she took a shower and while in the bathroom she threw up and later sat down on the bed due to dizziness.
Frink, she said, offered her a massage. She said she was hesitant to oblige, although Frink’s hands were already on her shoulders. She said she shrugged Frink off, but he laid her down on the bed and started rubbing her back with lotion.
She said she tried to squirm away, but Frink held her back and told her to “just relax.” The victim said at that point she was feeling very confused.
She said she began to black out and “all of a sudden Frink was having sexual intercourse with her without her consent.”
