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Court denies reducing sentence of man incarcerated for molestation
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Posted on Aug 21 2019
The Superior Court denied yesterday the request to reduce the prison term of a man who was sentenced to 15 years for molestation.
During a hearing yesterday, Lazaro H. Guillermo asked the court to reduce his current sentence due to personal matters he needs to attend to.
Superior Court Presiding Judge Robert Naraja said that he had to deny the request because it is usually during the plea agreement hearing when an individual is given the chance to ask the court for leniency regarding the sentence.
Naraja said that Guillermo should have addressed the court with these concerns before his change of plea was accepted because that kind of information is critical when imposing a sentence on an individual.
Despite Guillermo informing the court that he was not aware of that and was not made aware that he could have asked for leniency during the change of plea agreement, Naraja did not grant the request.
Guillermo, 25, pleaded guilty to two of the four charges against him back in April: sexual assault in the second degree, punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment, and burglary, punishable by up to 15 years imprisonment.
The two other charges were dismissed without prejudice.
According to Saipan Tribune archives, as a result of the plea agreement, Guillermo was sentenced to just 15 years imprisonment, with five years suspended.
Guillermo entered a house on Rota after dark on June 10, 2018, and groped a minor while she was asleep. The victim told police that she woke up to someone touching her in the early morning of June 10 as she was sleeping on a couch in a bedroom with another female on a bed with a baby.
During police interview, Guillermo allegedly admitted breaking into the house through the window and touching the girl.
Guillermo said he left the bedroom when the witness told him to leave.
Based on DPS records, Guillermo is a tier-1 sex offender in Guam.
