Previous Story
Man in sex abuse of a minor case pleads not guilty
|
Posted on Feb 05 2019
A man who allegedly sexually abused a minor pleaded not guilty yesterday to all the charges.
Benjamin Mafnas Hattori, 41, entered a plea of not guilty before Superior Court Presiding Judge Robert Naraja.
Hattori, through assistant public defender Nancy Daminski, asked for a speedy trial and was scheduled for a status conference before Superior Court Associate Judge Teresa Kim-Tenorio on March 7.
The Superior Court believes that the crimes of sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree, violation of the sex offender registry, and domestic violence: disturbing the peace was committed and that Hattori may have committed them.
According to court information, Hattori inappropriately touched a 14-year-old girl and lived in a household where minors were present despite it being prohibited under the CNMI Sex Offender Registry Act. Hattori is a registered sex offender.
In a declaration of probable cause, detective Rosa T. Rios states that on Dec. 12, 2018 at 3:41pm, police officers responded to a reported child abuse complaint.
Upon arrival, police met with the complainant who looked upset and informed police that she was Hattori’s girlfriend.
The complainant told police that she learned that day that Hattori had touched the victim inappropriately on Nov. 21, 2018.
Preliminary reports later indicate that on Nov. 22, 2018, at around 1am, the victim said she woke up to see Hattori touching her thighs. Hattori allegedly saw the victim wake up and kissed the victim and left.
Hattori later returned and continued to inappropriately touch the victim and made the victim scared.
Hattori’s bail was set at $25,000 and remains in Department of Corrections’ custody.
