Nightclub owners Edward Frank C. Cabrera and Xiuhong Luo, who were both convicted of engaging in prostitution activities, were sentenced yesterday to three years in prison.
Superior Court associate judge Kenneth Govendo said Cabrera and Luo shall serve the three years without parole.
The judge also directed each defendant to pay $8,000 as mandatory fine and placed them on seven years and six months of probation.
“Go back to the taxi [business]. Your days of being a pimp is finished! Done!” Govendo told Cabrera. He told Cabrera that his life is about to change as he can no longer get a license to operate a karaoke and nightclubs.
With respect to Luo, Govendo said: “She is one of the people I would like to say 'adios' [from the Commonwealth].”
The judge ordered the defendants to start serving their sentences on Jan. 30 so they could have enough time to arrange for their five-year-old son's guardianship.
Govendo revoked the defendants' business licenses and permanently barred them from hiring alien workers in the CNMI.
After serving her sentence, Luo may be deported even without paying the $8,000 fine, Govendo said. “I'd rather see the government lose money than not get rid of an undesirable alien,” he said.
Govendo he does not find the defendants remorseful at all.
“They're remorseful because they were caught,” he pointed out. “ I don't believe Mr. Cabrera was remorseful.”
The judge cited that, in her apology to the court, Luo mentioned that the victims had somehow cheated her.
“That's not a sign of remorse to me,” Govendo said.
Govendo said the prosecution and the Division of Immigration may feel that the court should impose a harsher sentence but “I do not consider this a slap on the wrist. I believe this is a fair sentence.”
The judge told Cabrera that he and the government are not picking on him.
“It's just that you are No. 1 on the list,” he said, referring to other people engaged in prostitution activities.
Govendo said the prostitution problem can be easily addressed, but that there is no political will to do something about it. He said CNMI is not doing enough to stop prostitution.
“We are deeply religious yet morally corrupt,” Govendo said.
Govendo said when it is time for the garment industry to shut down, it's time for say adios to these alien workers and that they should not be given 45 days to get new jobs.
“We never ever thought about it. All of us were thinking about the improper use of Immigration,” he added.
When Saipan Tribune asked assistant attorney general Kevin Lynch about the sentencing, he stated that Govendo had obviously given a lot of consideration to the case and the facts. Lynch said the judge tried to address the severity of the crimes that were committed.
“We were looking for a higher sentence but we did get a substantial period of time for them to serve as well as the fines. We were also hoping that the judge will revoke the business licenses, which in fact he did. We were hoping that he would revoke Miss Luo's ability to work here, which he did. So, in general, we are satisfied with the sentencing,” Lynch said.
Lynch recommendation was 12 years for Cabrera and eight years for Luo plus fines.
Defense attorney Robert T. Torres told Saipan Tribune that Govendo had proclaimed the court's “manifesto of the Marianas” about the importance of having political will in enforcing laws and making up its mind whether CNMI wants to open its doors or close them.
“It is clear that the court has said that, with respect to lax immigration enforcement and policies, we need to have the political will to enforce them,” said Torres, who is counsel for Luo.
As to the sentence, Torres said justice was done because the court looked at all the factors of rehabilitation, deterrence, isolation and retribution.
He said Govendo sent a clear message that anyone promoting prostitution will be met with severe punishment, in addition to prosecution.
“So as the defense counsel, the question is whether my client receive a fair sentence. I believe that the court took great pains to consider all the facts. It took three or four days to consider them and I believe that justice was done in the sense that the sentence was fair and appropriate,” Torres said.
Torres's recommendation was simply following the recommendation of the Adult Probation, which was a range of three to five years.
Attorney Joseph Arriola, counsel for Cabrera, said the Adult Probation had recommended three to five years.
“We believe that's reasonable. Obviously I asked for something less. I asked for zero to 6 months given that they have a five-year-old son. So in light of all the charges and the conviction I think that what the court imposed was fair and reasonable,” Arriola said.
Cabrera and his common-law wife Luo own the Red Heart Massage and Mayi Night Club.
The Attorney General's Investigative Unit alleged that Cabrera and Luo recruited two women from the Philippines and forced them to have sex with several customers at Red Heart Massage.
AGIU said the victims managed to run away from the defendants on Sept. 18, 2005, then reported the incident to authorities.
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