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Man, 56, gets prison for sexual abuse of boy
A 56-year-old man who pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a 15-year-old boy in 2014 was slapped with a prison term of 12 years and six months yesterday.
Jose Albert R. Santos was sentenced to 15 years in prison, with two years and six months suspended. He won’t be eligible for parole.
After completing his prison term, Santos will be placed on 10 years of probation, during which he will not be allowed any unsupervised contact with minors. He will also be required to register with the CNMI Sex Offender Registry, among other conditions.
At Santos’ sentencing, the victim took the stand and told Superior Court Associate Judge Kenneth L. Govendo that the incident still haunts him every day.
Santos pleaded guilty last month to sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree as part of a plea deal.
Under the agreement, Santos shall be sentenced to between eight and 15 years of imprisonment, to be determined at the sentencing hearing.
Assistant attorney general Teri Tenorio had recommended the maximum prison term of 15 years, without the possibility of parole.
Tenorio said this will hold Santos accountable for his crime, is proportional to his conduct, and serves the interests of justice to protect the community, and deter others from committing similar crimes.
Assistant public defender Cindy Nesbit, counsel for Santos, had recommended a sentence of eight years imprisonment, with no fines.
Nesbit said that given Santos’ age, an eight-year prison sentence will be hard and is well above the statutory minimum.
According to police, Santos had sexual contact with the boy on Saipan on Oct. 3, 2014.
In February 2017, Govendo found Santos competent to stand trial.
In 2014, the Office of the Attorney General charged Santos with three counts of sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree, and two counts of disturbing the peace.
Santos was arrested in October 2014. He was placed under house arrest after posting a $50,000 property bond.
The boy alleged that Santos had been sexually abusing him since September 2014 and would give him $2 to $10 after each incident.
