Man accused of raping a minor to plead guilty

A man accused of raping a 12-year-old girl on church grounds is set to plead guilty to assault and battery charges.

John Timothy Villasis Vergara, now 19, who was initially charged with sexual abuse of a minor in the first degree and sexual assault in the first degree, has agreed to plead guilty to the amended charges, which now only includes assault and battery.

However, Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho has raised a few concerns before he accepts the plea agreement. One of the judge’s concerns was the exclusion of registering as a sex offender as one of the conditions under the plea agreement.

“As the factual basis contains language of a sexual nature, the plea agreement appears to not contain a condition for the defendant to register as a sex offender,” he said

Camacho ordered the parties to file a written response addressing this issue, among others, on or before Monday, Jan. 3, 2022, and explain why the court should accept the plea agreement. Vergara’s change of plea hearing remains set for Jan. 5, 2022, at 10am.

In addition to the exclusion of registering as a sex offender, the court also wants the parties to address whether the minor’s parents have been informed of the terms of the plea agreement and their position on the terms.

“The alleged victim is a 13-year-old minor. The plea agreement indicates that the alleged victim has been contacted as to the terms of the plea agreement. Because the victim is a minor, the court wants to know if the parents of the alleged victim have been informed about the terms of the plea agreement and what is the parents’ position regarding the terms of the plea agreement,” he said.

Also, the court wants the parties to address the requirement of a mandatory sentence.

“The factual basis of the plea agreement indicates grounds for 6 CMC §1308(a)(1) and requires a mandatory sentence—6 CMC §1308(b),” the judge said.

According to court documents, back in June, Vergara was arrested on the charge of sexually assaulting a then 12-year-old girl inside the restroom of Jesus is Lord Church.

Because he was 18 at the time of the arrest, he was initially charged with sexual abuse of a minor in the first degree and sexual assault in the first degree.

On Dec. 13, the Office of the Attorney General requested to amend the charging document against Vergara to drop all serious sex offenses.

After the court granted the amendment, Vergara is now only charged with one count of assault and battery. The charge carries a maximum sentence up to one year and $1,000 fine, or both.

Based on information of the plea agreement, if the court accepts his guilty plea, Vergara will be sentenced to a one-year imprisonment term, all suspended except for four days. He will also be given credit for the four days he has already served.

Because he will not be serving jail time, Vergara will be placed on a two-year probation upon the court’s acceptance of the plea agreement.

According to Saipan Tribune archives, Vergara allegedly raped the victim on two occasions: at a birthday party in Micro Beach back in August 2020, and in the restroom of the Jesus is Lord Church last June 2 during a church anniversary practice.

During an interview with the victim’s mother last June 8, she told DPS investigators that Vergara raped her daughter for the second time in the church’s restroom during a church anniversary practice.

The following day, June 9, a DPS investigator attended a forensic interview with the victim at the Division of Youth Services where she alleged that the second incident happened at around 7pm last June 2.

The first incident that happened on August 2020 was reported at the Commonwealth Health Center on Jan. 25. During an interview with Dr. Heather Taylor, the victim wrote on a paper that the incident happened when they were celebrating her brother’s birthday at Micro Beach when she went into the ocean with her mother’s friend’s son, Vergara. That prompted the doctor to report the incident to DPS. It was not immediately learned why DPS did not act on the initial rape report.