2nd alleged victim takes the witness stand in Roberto trial

The second of three alleged underage victims took the witness stand in federal court on Friday and narrated her sex encounters with Raymond B. Roberto.

The 16-year-old girl, who was allegedly tagged by Roberto as “Shy Girl,” will continue her testimony when the jury trial of the 41-year-old Roberto resumes tomorrow morning, Tuesday.

The second alleged victim recounted to jurors the time when Roberto picked her and two other girls in Kagman in April 2013 and brought them to Parkville Motel in Gualo Rai. She said the motel room was dark and one of the girls pulled her to the bed. She said she was scared.

When asked by Assistant U.S. attorney Rami S. Badawy if at some point Roberto did something to her, the girl bowed her head, paused for a few seconds, then replied that it made her uncomfortable.

When Badawy pressed her to be specific, the girl said, “I don’t like the question.”

“It was wrong. Everything,” the girl added after pausing for few seconds, then started swinging her chair from left to right.

U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona, who is presiding over the trial, asked the girl why she appears hesitant to answer questions.

The girl just bowed her head, not giving a reply.

When Badawy asked another question, the girl answered that she did not see anything inside the room at that time because it was dark.

She did not reply, however, when Badawy pressed her on what she meant by “everything was wrong.” The prosecutor said he will just ask the same question later in his direct examination.

The girl said she and her friend then went inside the motel’s bathroom to rinse, while Roberto, whom she called “Jerald,” was in bed with the third girl.

The first victim earlier testified that she used the name “Jerald” in her cell phone’s contact number for Roberto so no one would learn when somebody sees her phone.

“Shy Girl” said she heard the third girl moaning, but didn’t hear anything from Roberto.

She said all four of them then left the motel and went to a cockpit where Roberto got money from someone inside. She said it was only Roberto who got down from the car. She said when Roberto came back, he gave them $100 each.

The alleged victim said that Roberto dropped her and her friend off at a building near Power 99 in Garapan because one of the girls would meet her boyfriend there. She said Roberto dropped her other friend at another place.

“Shy Girl” said she and the two other girls at one time stayed at her aunt’s house, where she would take care of her [aunt] and her husband’s children.

When shown some text messages, “Shy Girl” recognized them as her friend’s exchange of text messages with Roberto.

She admitted that she participated in those text conversations with Roberto and recognized which ones were her messages.

She identified as her text messages those that Roberto and her friend referred to as “Shy Girl.” She said it was Roberto and her friend who called her in those messages as “Shy Girl.”

The first alleged victim earlier testified that Roberto negotiated for her to bring “Shy Girl.”

The second girl recalled that Roberto again picked her and her friend and they went back to Parkville Motel last year. She said Roberto asked her to hide in the car while the attendant was talking to him.

At this juncture, Manglona announced a long weekend break. She told the girl to resume her testimony tomorrow, Tuesday.

The second girl started her testimony on Friday morning, after Roberto’s lead counsel David J. Lujan completed his extensive questioning of the first alleged victim. After Lujan’s cross-examination, Badawy then questioned the first girl.

Roberto, a former acting Division of Fish and Wildlife director, is on trial for three counts of enticing three minors to engage in prostitution and one count of witness tampering.