SUPERIOR Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho has sentenced Raphael C. Mafnas to 10 years’ imprisonment but with five years and six months suspended after he pled guilty to sexual assault in the second degree.
Mafnas, 53, admitted to having sexual contact with a minor without her consent.
He will be confined to the Department of Corrections for four years and six months or 54 months and “shall serve the imprisonment sentence day by day without the possibility of parole, early release, weekend release, or other similar programs.”
The judge also gave Mafnas credit for 220 days of time served from Jan. 25 to Sept. 2, 2022.
The suspended sentence may be imposed in whole or in part for any violation of law or Office of Adult Probation rules, the judge added.
In addition, Mafnas will be placed on probation for 10 years upon his release from imprisonment.
He will also be required to register as a sex offender and comply with the CNMI Sex Offender Registry Act.
As part of his sentence, Mafnas will pay a probation fee of $120 per year, and a court fee of $25. No fine was imposed on him as he is indigent.
Judge Camacho noted that the victim and her family were aware of and did not have any objection to the plea agreement between the Office of the Attorney General and the defendant.
“Defendant wrote an apology letter to the victim and read his apology letter in court. The court was informed that the victim was not emotionally ready to be at the change of plea hearing. The Victim Advocate was present. The apology letter shall be given to the victim through the Victim Advocate,” the judge said.
According to court documents, on or about Jan. 17, 2022, Mafnas “did engage in sexual contact with a person, [a minor], without her consent, to wit: since 2020, defendant has had sexual contact with her without her consent, specifically on Jan. 17, 2022, Mafnas inappropriately touched [the minor]…in violation of 6 CMC § 1302(a)(5)(A).”
