SAYING that he has been suspended without pay by the judiciary, a law clerk accused of raping another judicial employee is requesting the Superior Court to modify the bail previously set at $100,000 to $6,000 and allow him to post 10% of the amount or $600.
William Abraczinkas, 34, was charged with sexual assault in the first degree, assault and battery, and disturbing the peace.
At the bail hearing Friday, Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho imposed a $100,000 cash bail on Abraczinkas.
Abraczinkas through his attorney, Richard Miller, filed a notice and application to modify bail, and a motion to redetermine indigency.
Judge Camacho previously found Abraczinkas’ current income over the threshold for an appointment of a public defender.
According to Miller, the defendant is a recent graduate of UNLV law school.
“He arrived in Saipan March of this year to work as a law clerk at the NMI Superior [Court]. On June 16, shortly after his initial appearance, he was suspended by the NMI Judiciary without pay and therefore has no income. The only funds he has immediate access to are $600 in cash. He has about $1,500 in a Bank of Hawaii account but cannot access it from jail,” Miller said.
Abraczinkas had no criminal history, Miller added, “as should be apparent because a criminal background check would have been conducted by the government before hiring him. Although he is charged with a serious felony, the weight of the evidence is extraordinarily weak,” his lawyer said.
“From the complaint and affidavit, it appears the entire basis for the Government’s case is the complaining witness’s version of events, uncorroborated by any other witnesses or any evidence,” Miller said.
“The affidavit states that the complaining witness reported the alleged incident to the Department of Public Safety only after Mr. Abraczinkas had filed a sexual harassment claim against her with the Judiciary’s Human Resources office. Yet the affidavit does not even consider the possibility that the complaining witness, a longtime employee of the NMI Judiciary, retaliated against Mr. Abraczinkas for accusing her of sexual harassment by going to the police and falsely accusing him of rape,” Miller said.
“Retaliation, to take revenge, is one of the most common motives for false accusations of sexual assault,” Miller added.
According to the lawyer, there is no indication that if released on bail, his client would fail to appear for trial or pose a threat to the complaining witness or anyone else in the community.
“The alleged assault took place more than two months ago, and there is no allegation that Mr. Abraczinkas sought out or had any further contact with the complaining witness. For the past few weeks while the HRO investigated sexual harassment, Mr. Abraczinkas was told to work from home and not come into the Guma’ Hustisia to work. Mr. Abraczinkas complied and has stayed away from the courthouse. He has posed no threat to the complaining witness during all that time, and there is no reason to presume that he would suddenly pose a threat to her now that criminal charges have been filed,” Miller said.
“Mr. Abraczinkas is a young man just starting his career in law. If he doesn’t clear his name, he will never be admitted to practice in any U.S. jurisdiction. If he fails to appear for trial and has a bench warrant out on a rape charge, his future as an attorney is over. He has every incentive to appear at trial and defend himself against this accusation,” Miller said.
His client is also requesting to be released without a third-party custodian.
Miller said the defendant has only been on island for three months and does not have close friends or family here.
“His circumstances do not warrant or require the appointment of a custodian,” the lawyer added.
“In consideration of the weakness of the case, Mr. Abraczinkas’ clean criminal history, and circumstances that show Mr. Abraczinkas has kept away from the complaining witness even without a court order to do so, his bail should be reduced to an amount he can immediately raise: 10% of $6,000,” Miller said.
He also asked the court to reconsider and find Abraczinkas indigent and appoint counsel for him.
Today, Wednesday, June 21, a hearing before Judge Camacho at 10 a.m. is scheduled for the motion to modify bail.
A preliminary hearing is set for June 26 at 10 a.m. and the arraignment will be held on July 3 at 9 a.m.
Police said they received a walk-in complaint from a judicial employee on May 26, alleging that her coworker, Abraczinkas, sexually assaulted her on April 8 at Beach Garden Apartment.
She also told investigators that she learned that Abraczinkas had filed a sexual harassment complaint against her through the judiciary’s human resources office.
After meeting with HR and opening up with her supervisor about the alleged sexual assault incident, she said she found the courage to tell her side of the incident to the police.
