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Two men arrested for alleged sexual abuse of 15-yr.-old girl
Two men were arrested Friday for allegedly having sex with the same 15-year-old girl in separate incidents on Saipan.
Jamin Daniel C. Dela Cruz, 20, was arrested in Finasisu for two counts of sexual abuse of a minor, while Jose Mendiola Cepeda, 40, was apprehended in Dandan for six counts of sexual abuse of a minor.
Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho imposed yesterday a $15,000 and $30,000 cash bail each on Dela Cruz and Cepeda respectively.
Preliminary hearing for Dela Cruz and Cepeda will be on Oct. 7 at 1:30pm.
Assistant public defender Matthew Meyer was appointed counsel for Dela Cruz. Cepeda told the court his family would retain a private lawyer.
Police detective Therese S. Kintoki stated in her report that a detective got a call Thursday morning from the child’s father, who reported about what had happened to his daughter.
Kintoki said that during their interview with the 15-year-old girl, the minor disclosed that she and Dela Cruz started talking and exchanging text messages in November 2013. One time during that period, Dela Cruz picked up the girl from her school and brought her to his parents’ apartment in Finasisu, where they had sex. At the time, no one was in the apartment. Dela Cruz later dropped her back to school and allegedly told her not to tell anyone about what happened.
Kintoki said the girl also disclosed that she had sex with another adult, Cepeda, the first time in December 2013, at the girl’s grandmother’s house.
The second incident allegedly happened sometime in January or February 2014, when Cepeda picked her up from school and brought her to his house, where they had sex.
Cepeda allegedly had sex with her from December 2013 until Sept. 6, 2014. (Saipan Tribune)
