30-day time-served sentence for a man in child abuse case

Retired Army reservist Michael Barry Murphy, who was originally charged with sexual abuse of a 4-year-old girl in 2016, pleaded guilty Friday to the offense of child abuse and was slapped with a 30-day time-served sentence.

Murphy, 57, signed a plea deal with the CNMI government. Superior Court Associate Judge Wesley Bogdan accepted the plea agreement and its terms.

Bogdan sentenced Murphy to 30 days in prison, with credit for the 30 days he has already served; this means he is already out of prison.

Murphy was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and ordered to leave the CNMI within 30 days. He is not allowed to come back sooner than two years from departure.

The judge also prohibited Murphy from having contact with the victim or her mother.

A family member of the victim told Saipan Tribune that the Office of the Attorney General did not give the family an opportunity to be involved in the process of reaching the plea agreement. She accused the OAG of being in a hurry to hammer out the plea deal.

She said Bogdan, who is the third judge assigned to this case, seemed shocked when a family member stood up after the sentencing and expressed disappointment as to why they were not consulted about the plea deal.

In a statement, the family member said the original charges were sexual abuse/assault with a minor in first degree and second degree, and assault and battery, yet he case ended up only as child abuse.

“They call it a fair trial? Justice? What’s fair about a serial child rapist walking free? Where is the justice in this?” she said.

The family member said their worst nightmares have come true and that Murphy has manipulated the courts, the Commonwealth, the victims’ families, and them—the survivors.

She also accused the OAG of having a history and a pattern of neglect that has not brought justice to sexual assault victims and victims of any crime.

“Is this selective prosecution? Inadequate representation and poor investigation,” she said.

The family member said that Murphy has yet again gotten away with what he has done.

“This is why a lot of victims are afraid to come forward from this crime in our culture and the CNMI Judiciary system. We need do to better for sexual victims and other victims of such heinous acts,” she said.

She alleged that Murphy has been involved in sexual assault/abuse involving minors in the first and second degree, and that several victims have come forward.

The government originally charged the defendant with sexual abuse of a minor in the first degree and sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree, for allegedly sexually abusing a 4-year-old girl on Aug. 6, 2016.

Assistant attorney general Samantha Vickery served as counsel for the government. Previous prosecutors handled the case.

Assistant public defender Heather Zona, counsel for Murphy, filed numerous motions in this case.

The incident allegedly happened from 1994 to 2004 when the victim was a minor. The alleged victim in the second cased is now an adult, according to court documents.