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Prisoner wants 45-year sentence reduced
A prisoner serving a 45-year sentence for sexual crimes asked Superior Court yesterday to reduce his sentence.
There will be a status conference on March 14 on the request of Anthony P. Rios.
Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho directed the Office of the Public Defender to evaluate the issue of whether it can still be appointed counsel for Rios considering that he has appealed to the CNMI Supreme Court.
In a handwritten letter, Rios also requested for an appointment of an attorney and filed a notice of petition for a writ of habeas corpus.
Rios did not indicate the reasons in his motions.
According to court records, Rios pleaded guilty in 1997 to three counts of sexual abuse of a child, two counts of oral copulation, and one count of rape. He was sentenced to five years imprisonment.
After his release from prison in 2003, Rios reoffended and was sentenced to five years in prison.
He re-offended again in 2012 and was charged with two counts of sexual assault in the second degree, two counts of assault and battery, and two counts of disturbing the peace. Based upon those charges, the government had his probation in both the 1997 and 2003 cases revoked.
Before revoking the probation, a trial judge presiding over the revocation hearing—different from the one who had presided over the 1997 and 2003 cases—denied Rios’ request for a presentence investigation report.
In 2012, Camacho sentenced Rios to the maximum 45 years for the 1997 and 2003 cases. Rios appealed, but in 2015 the CNMI Supreme Court affirmed his conviction and the 45-year prison term that Camacho imposed on him. (Ferdie de la Torre)
