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Court orders release of rape suspect
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Posted on Sep 14 2000
Superior Court Presiding Judge Edward Manibusan yesterday ordered the release of a suspected rapist who has been languishing in jail for six months without any bail hearing.
Michael Mettao, 18, was charged with rape and assault and battery by Assistant Attorney General James Benedetto on March 9, 2000. A resident of Chalan Lau Lau, he was arrested while at work on March 14, 2000 and has been in jail since then.
Two days ago, Mr. Mettao sought the help of Public Defender Masood Karimipour who immediately sent a letter to Attorney General Herb Soll and Department of Public Safety Commissioner Charles W. Ingram demanding the release of the suspect.
Mr. Karimipour condemned what he described as gross negligence of Mr. Benedetto to bring Mr. Mettao to court to receive a bail hearing, be advised of his rights or have a counsel appointed to represent him.
“Regardless of the charges against the person, we live in a country of laws where the government cannot just show up and drag you and put you to jail without due process. Mr. Mettao’s most fundamental rights have been violated due to the gross negligence of the Attorney General’s Office,” Mr. Karimipour said.
In his letter to the DPS chief, Mr. Karimipour asked for an investigation of the case as he warned that detention of citizens without proper judicial order violates their rights as well as exposes the government to civil liability.
Mr. Karimipour would file before the court a motion to dismiss the case and seek sanction of Mr. Benedetto for the alleged negligence.
However, Mr. Benedetto said the AGO should not be blamed for the incident. He said there are statutes explaining the procedure that must be followed when a person is arrested.
“It is not the AGO’s job to check on everybody since we file so many information every year. But then this is a very serious matter and we will investigate to find out what went wrong,” Mr. Benedetto said.
While Mr. Karimipour wants disciplinary action against Mr. Benedetto, he raised doubts whether the AGO would do so. “I think the AGO will just do a complete whitewash, sweep it under the rug or will just slap him on the wrist,” he said.
