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Man, 56, found guilty of raping student
The Superior Court handed down Friday a guilty verdict against a 56-year-old man who raped a then-18-year-old student in the jungle near the Saipan airport in February 2016.
After less than three hours of deliberation, the six jurors reached a unanimous verdict, finding John Santos Aldan guilty of sexual assault in the first degree.
Associate Judge Teresa Kim-Tenorio, who presided and decided on the misdemeanor charge, also found Aldan guilty of disturbing the peace. Aldan will be sentenced on Aug. 22, 2017.
Chief Public Defender Douglas Hartig and assistant public defender Cindy Nesbit, counsel for Aldan, declined to comment on the verdict.
Assistant attorney general Teri Tenorio later praised the victim for being “exceptionally courageous and brave to come forward” and give her story.
Additionally, Tenorio thanked the Department of Public Safety officers.
Tenorio said the government will recommend a maximum sentence of 30 years and six months imprisonment for Aldan.
It was Tenorio’s first trial in the CNMI. She is from Guam and has been on Saipan for just a couple of months.
“I’m not happy about a guilty verdict. I’m happy about justice,” she said.
Assistant attorney general Jonathan Glass Jr. assisted Tenorio during the trial.
The victim’s father thanked Tenorio and her team for a “well done job.”
The trial began last May 22. The prosecution called 11 witnesses, including the victim. The defense called a DNA expert.
Aldan is a retired Commonwealth Utilities Corp. power plant operator.
The victim told police that Aldan picked her up from school on Feb. 8, 2016. Instead of taking the usual route, Aldan drove her to a jungle area by the Francisco C. Ada-Saipan International Airport and raped her inside his red Toyota T100 pickup truck. She later told her mother about the incident. Her mother then called the police. Aldan was arrested the following day, Feb. 9.
