Sex caller faces trial for wiretapping

A young man is facing trial at the US District Court for wiretapping charges in connection with unauthorized access to a telephone line which he allegedly used to place “sex calls” overseas.

During last Friday’s arraignment, Joey Cabrera Duenas pled not guilty to charges of using an MTC cellular phone that belonged to Sally Irwin Wallace, wife of FBI special agent Richard Wallace.

According to the criminal case filed by US Atty. David Wood, Duenas transmitted wire communications to Vanuatu Island, Oklahoma, Hawaii, Guam, the Philippines, Illinois, Texas, South America and Niue Island.

Duenas, 19, is believed to have dialed sex lines using the stolen phone between April 25 and May 6, and incurred a bill that ran up to more than $1,000.

“A cellular phone can be used to perpetrate wire fraud and by simply using it, [Duenas] was able to access the credit of MTC, which. in a sense is the same as being able to get a bank credit service by getting money out of the bank teller machine,” Wood explained.

Duenas was charged with “devising a scheme to defraud MTC,” and “affecting interstate or foreign commerce.”

The cellular phone used by Duenas had reportedly been stolen from Sally Wallace’s car.

However, Wood said, the US Attorney’s Office did not file theft charges against Duenas because there was no evidence to prove that it was him who stole it.

“There has been several stories during investigation as to how exactly he got a hold of the telephone, but for this particular case it doesn’t matter. The case only involves fraudulent use of the cell phone,” Wood said.

Duenas was charged with a separate offense, along with Roland Kaipat, for lying to an FBI agent during the investigation pertinent to the wiretapping case.

The two pled not guilty to charges of making “false, fictitious, and fraudulent statements and representations.”

Duenas is scheduled to be tried on Sept. 7, and Kaipat on Sept. 13.

District Court Judge Alex Munson allowed Kaipat to go out on bail.

Duenas, however, was sent back to the custody of the US Marshall because Munson was not convinced that his grandmother, Rosie Duenas, could be a capable custodian.

Aside from wiretapping, the federal court learned that Duenas is facing another trial at the local court for robbery charges.

“Joey is running amuck a little bit and I don’t think his grandmother has the energy to control him,” Wood told the court.

During the process of establishing his capacity to enter a plea, Duenas was asked by Munson if he had used any drugs within 24 hours before coming to the court.

Duenas admitted to having smoked marijuana the day before.

The self-incriminating admission surprised the people in the courtroom, prompting Munson to order Duenas’ court-appointed lawyer David Wiseman to speak to his client.

Eventually, Munson was convinced that Duenas was sober and capable of answering questions from the court.

In an interview after the arraignment, Wood said Duenas’ admission could be a basis for filing separate drug charges.

However, he said the federal government would decide on this matter based on the outcome of the wiretapping trial.

“In some likelihood, there might be a concurrent sentencing for this. The federal government will take the admission into consideration, but we will decide as to whether or not to file charges of possession of marijuana depending on the outcome of the case,” Wood said.