Ex-firefighter gets 30 years in jail

Richard Sullivan Benavente

Former firefighter Richard Sullivan Benavente was slapped yesterday in federal court with the maximum sentence of 30 years imprisonment for sexual exploitation of a child.

“Despite your denial, you are a pedophile,” U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona told the 45-year-old Benavente.

Manglona said she is going to proceed with what justice requires, which is to remove Benavente from the community.

The judge said the 30-year sentence will set an example or serve as a wake-up call to adults who are currently preying on minors.

Manglona said the defendant has drug addiction, but also admitted to have sex addiction.

The judge said Benavente claimed he was only a drug addict, but not a pedophile.

Manglona said the defendant, however, had engaged in sex with two minor girls.

Manglona said with his “ice” addiction and sexual exploitation of minors, it is a scary risk to get Benavente back in the community.

The judge said Benavente gave drugs and engaged in sex with minors, who were addicted to drugs.

“You were able to identify the weakness of the minors,” Manglona said.

The judge said Benavente pleaded guilty which is very important.

Manglona said what the defendant did after entering a plea deal with the government was so damaging.

Manglona said Benavente has no criminal history and it is very troubling that some police reports involving the defendant have never made it through the criminal division of the Office of the Attorney General.

The judge urged the head of the Department of Public Safety to look into those reports.

Manglona said after completing the prison term, Benavente will be placed on five years of supervised release.

The defendant was ordered to jointly pay with Annette Naktsukasa Basa restitution to the two minors and Guma Esperanza in the amount of $9,102.39, and $100 special assessment fee.

Benavente’s cellphone and camera that he used in committing the crime were forfeited to the U.S. government as part of the plea agreement.

Before the sentence was handed down, Benavente apologized to the court, his family, and to the victims and their families for his crime.

“I am a drug addict!” said Benavente, adding that he smoked “ice” for 15 years and that he hid it from his family and friends.

Attorney Michael Dotts, counsel for Benavente, recommended a sentence of the statutory mandatory minimum of 15 years imprisonment.

Dotts reiterated the defense’s position that Benavente was a drug addict and not a pedophile.

Dotts said as one of the videos showed, the defendant was smoking “ice” while having sex.

The defense lawyer said “ice” affected Benavente’s judgment so he engaged sex with two minor girls.

Dotts said a 30-year sentence is not fair and not appropriate because it’s like imposing a life sentence on the defendant.

Assistant attorney general Garth Backe recommended a sentence of 24 years and four months imprisonment, which is the lowest end of the sentencing guidelines range.

Backe said as a then-fireman or trusted public servant, Benavente engaged in sex with at least two minor girls, and worse, he also gave the minors “ice.”

On top of that, Backe said, Benavente even videotaped his sex with the minor girls.

Backe said Benavente also committed perjury and obstruction of justice.

Backe said at the trial of Raymond Roberto, Benavente victimized the girls again by calling them liars.

Benavente’s mother cried when she testified in court yesterday begging for a lenient sentence. She said her son has a good heart, took care of his siblings, and that his two children need him.

The mother said her son is a good man but drugs changed him.

Benavente’s sister also testified that he is a good man and that because of drugs, he changed.

U.S. Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the NMI Alicia A.G. Limtiaco in a press statement yesterday said consistent with the Department of Justice’s efforts to combat child sexual exploitation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, together with its federal and local law enforcement partners, will vigorously investigate and prosecute individuals who prey on children, and strive to rid the islands of this unconscionable crime.

“We encourage and urge members of our community to report to authorities any and all forms of abuse, exploitation and violence; and remind ourselves, that it is all of our responsibility to protect others, especially the most vulnerable such as our children and minors, from those who perpetrate these heinous crimes,” Limtiaco said.

The case began in July 2013 when the Department of Public Safety received a video file from an anonymous source depicting Benavente and a minor girl engaging in sexually explicit conduct. The girl was later identified.

In 2013, a federal jury indicted Benavente and Basa on several counts of sexual exploitation of a child.

In February 2014, Benavente pleaded guilty to a count of sexual exploitation.

In September 2014, Benavente testified at trial of Roberto, who was charged with coercion and enticement of the same minors that Benavente sexually exploited.

The prosecution presented evidence that Roberto used a prepaid SIM card with a number ending in 3443 to contact the girls for sex.

Testifying for Roberto, Benavente said that, from mid-June to July of 2013, he in fact used the 3443 SIM card to contact the girls.

Roberto was acquitted.

Because of Benavente’s testimony, the U.S. government asked the court to find him in breach of his plea agreement for allegedly lying about his use of the 3443 SIM card during the Roberto trial. Judge Manglona agreed with the prosecution that Benavente indeed lied.

In December 2014, Basa was slapped with a 17.5-year prison term for sex trafficking of children.