LILI Zhang Tydingco, who was charged with harboring a minor alien, will be tried in federal court for the third time starting May 10 at 10 a.m.
At a status conference hearing Thursday, Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona of the District Court for the NMI told the defendant and her court-appointed attorney, Bruce Berline, that she is subject to pretrial release terms and conditions.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Garth Backe appeared for the federal government.
In June 2016, Tydingco and her husband, Francisco Muna Tydingco, were convicted of harboring a 10-year-old girl they brought from China in 2013.
The jury found Mrs. Tydingco guilty of harboring an alien and Mr. Tydingco guilty of aiding and abetting his wife.
On Dec. 9, 2016, Mrs. Tydingco was sentenced to 10 months’ imprisonment while Mr. Tydingco was sentenced to 21 months’ imprisonment.
The Tydingcos then appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which remanded their conviction for a new trial. The Ninth Circuit judges said the jury could have convicted the defendants on an invalid theory.
On May 10, 2019, the U.S. government opted not to pursue the charge against Mr. Tydingco, and asked the federal court to dismiss the case against him.
But the U.S. government refiled a superseding indictment against Mrs. Tydingco, charging her with harboring an illegal minor alien.
In September 2019, following two and a half hours of deliberation, jurors found Mrs. Tydingco guilty of one count of harboring a minor alien.
On June 17, 2020, Judge Manglona sentenced Mrs. Tydingco to 90 days’ imprisonment for harboring a minor alien.
The defendant appealed to the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Last month, the Ninth Circuit once again reversed her conviction and remanded the case to the District Court.
