Patrick Calvo’s request for work release denied

Superior Court Presiding Judge Robert C. Naraja Thursday denied convicted child molester Patrick M. Calvo’s request for his entry into the Department of Corrections’ work release program.

Naraja said the law demands that the court exercise a “policy of judicial restraint” when it comes to question of whether a court should issue a decree that affects issues of prison administration.

“This court sees no justification to depart from this well-reasoned principle of the law,” said Naraja in a seven-page order.

The presiding judge noted that even if he were to recommend Calvo’s eligibility for work release, such a decree would be in direct contravention of the law under a section of the NMI Administrative Code, which prohibits work release to defendants convicted of a crime of sexual contact.

Therefore, Naraja said, no legal justification exists for the court’s recommendation of work release for Calvo; and there is no recognized justice interest in the issuance of a judicial order that contravenes not only the constitutional separation of powers, but state law.

The 54-year-old Calvo, through counsel Bruce Berline, requested that the court recommend his participation in the work release program as it would be helpful to his rehabilitation, to allow him to work at his brother’s plant nursery.

Assistant attorney general Barbara Cepeda, counsel for the government, opposed the request. Cepeda also filed letters from seven people, including the victim and her mother and grandmother.

In denying Calvo’s request, Naraja said he has read the submitted letters and further noted that the writers’ concerns with Calvo’s early release are consistent with the court’s.

Naraja said it is for this reason that he is compelled to clarify that the one-year suspension of the imprisonment stems from his belief that the full force of the criminal justice system’s powers to compel the convicted should be levied against this defendant.

The judge said that is why he has placed Calvo under the watchful eyes of the Office of Adult Probation for seven additional years from his release from DOC, to monitor and to guide his rehabilitation into society.

At the resentencing hearing last month, Naraja imposed a seven-year prison term on Calvo. The original sentence that Naraja handed down in May 2010 was eight years imprisonment.

Naraja resentenced Calvo to eight years in prison for sexual assault in the second degree, eight years in prison for sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree, five years in prison for sexual abuse of a minor in the third degree, and six months in prison for disturbing the peace.

Naraja merged the sentences into a single sentence.