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New trial date for ex-firefighter Benavente
The federal court has reset the jury trial of Richard Sullivan Benavente to April 27, 2015. Benavente is a former firefighter who was indicted for allegedly lying in his testimony during the trial of Raymond B. Roberto.
Benavente’s trial was originally set for Dec. 8, 2014, and then reset to early part of 2015.
U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona set the new jury trial date on Thursday after reviewing the schedule with defense attorney Michael Dotts and assistant U.S. attorney Ross Naughton.
Manglona also stated that Benavente’s motion to disqualify and motion for pretrial order will be addressed at the hearing on Jan. 23.
Benavente, who already pleaded guilty to a count of exploitation of a child, has asked the court to disqualify three prosecutors from handling his separate perjury case.
Benavente, through Dotts, said assistant U.S. attorneys Rami Badawy, Garth Backe, and Ross Naughton are percipient witnesses to a critical event in the case.
Dotts said all three could be called to testify and as such, none of the three should prosecute this case.
Last February, Benavente pleaded guilty to a count of sexual exploitation of a child. He allegedly “persuaded, induced, enticed, and coerced” an underage girl to have sex with him while videotaping the incident on his cell phone.
Benavente is still under the custody.
Last September, Benavente and Randy A. Igisomar were indicted in federal court for allegedly lying or changing their stories during Raymond Roberto’s trial.
The indictment charged Benavente with three counts of perjury, and one count of obstruction of justice. It also includes a criminal forfeiture allegation. He pleaded not guilty.
