OAG obtains warrant for McDonnell’s extradition

Camacho

The Office of the Attorney General has been able to obtain from the governor of Illinois a copy of a warrant for the extradition of Sean P. McDonnell, a 39-year-old man who faces charges of sexual assault of a child in Illinois and was arrested last month on Saipan.

At an extradition hearing last Friday, Chief Prosecutor Michele Harris and assistant attorney general Jonathan Wilberscheid asked for a continuation of the extradition hearing as the CNMI government has been trying to get the Illinois governor Bruce Vincent Rauner to sign the warrant for McDonnell.

The prosecution informed Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho that the OAG already has an e-copy of the warrant. The OAG is hoping to get the original copy by today, Monday.

Camacho granted the government request for a continuance and set the new extradition hearing today, Monday, at 1:30pm.

Assistant public defender Nancy Dominski, counsel for McDonnell, said they will oppose if no original copy is provided at today’s hearing.

Presiding Judge Roberto Naraja used to handle the case, but he transferred the matter to Associate Judge Wesley Bogdan and later to Camacho.

Camacho heard the case Friday at 3:30pm after he returned from Tinian, where he also presided over hearings that day.

The deadline for the 45-day extradition hearing in McDonnell’s case is Nov. 24.

At a hearing last Oct. 10, Associate Judge Teresa Kim-Tenorio imposed a $1-million cash bail on McDonnell, citing the seriousness of the charges, the danger McDonnell poses to children in the CNMI, and his status as a flight risk.

The original extradition hearing was set for Nov. 13.

McDonnell is wanted in the county of Rock Island in Illinois, on multiple charges of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child.

A joint effort between the U.S. Marshals and the Department of Public Safety led to McDonnell’s arrest in Susupe last Oct. 6.

An Illinois judge issued an arrest warrant against McDonnell last Sept. 27 on charges of three counts of criminal sexual assault and four counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child. The Illinois judge imposed a $250,000 cash bail.

With the arrest, the OAG then filed a count of fugitive from justice.

The Moline Police Department said McDonnell went missing under mysterious circumstances and that he was last seen driving his truck last Sept. 11.

Authorities reportedly traced McDonnell to Saipan because of bank transactions.