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Man gets five years in prison for theft, sex abuse charges
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Posted on Jul 15 2004
A man was sentenced Wednesday to five years in prison and ordered to pay $500 in fees and fines for theft and sexual abuse of a minor, pursuant to plea agreement with the Attorney General’s Office.
Judge David A. Wiseman, however, suspended three years of Milton B. Cruz’s sentence, and directed him to only serve the first two years without the possibility of parole, minus a one-day credit for time already served.
Cruz was also ordered to pay a $300 fine and $200 in additional fees.
Wiseman ruled that Cruz is to begin serving his sentence when he reports to the Department of Public Safety in Tinian on Monday, Aug. 2, 2004 at 8am, and will be brought to the Division of Corrections on Saipan within 48 hours.
Along with the theft conviction, Cruz was convicted on a sexual abuse of a minor charge. At the time of the incident, Cruz was 21 years old and was involved in a relationship with a 13-year-old female, in which the relationship was consented to by the victim’s parents.
Cruz was reportedly encouraged to move in with the family by the parents and allowed to sleep with and have sex with their minor daughter.
In his ruling, Wiseman said that “society has stated through its laws, in no uncertain terms, that there is no custom, tradition or other family situation that allows this kind of activity and that such conduct definitely does constitute a crime with respect to the adult involved.”
The judge added that the parents deserve reprimand and perhaps an investigation by authorities into the misguided granting of permission to the relationship.
