Charges vs ex-firefighter Benavente are reduced
Former firefighter Richard Sullivan Benavente has pleaded not guilty to an indictment that he allegedly lied during the trial of Raymond B. Roberto.
At his arraignment on Thursday, Benavente, through court-appointed counsel Michael Dotts, waived the advisement of his constitutional rights and the reading of the charges.
Benavente pleaded not guilty to the first superseding indictment charging him with one count of obstruction of justice and one count of perjury.
The original indictment charged Benavente with four charges: three counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice. It also included a criminal forfeiture allegation.
The first superseding indictment was filed last April 17. One count of obstruction of justice refers to Benavente’s alleged misleading statements and representations during an interview with the Federal Bureau of Investigation on April 25, 2014, concerning the phone number 789-3443, which he knew was critical evidence in the case against Roberto.
One count of perjury refers to Benavente’s testimony for the defense during the trial of Roberto on Sept. 9, 2014, in which he allegedly gave materially false testimony.
He testified that when he was arrested by police in July 2013, he surrendered everything to the Department of Public Safety, including the phone with number 789-3443 and another phone with number 789-3503.
The FBI and the prosecution alleged that Roberto used 789-3443 and not Benavente.
He testified that he got the phone with number 789-3443 from two of the three alleged victims and that he actually used the SIM card in that cell phone in calling the girls or other girls.
U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona on Thursday also granted assistant U.S. attorney Ross Naughton’s motion to postpone Benavente’s jury trial.
Manglona set the new trial date for May 26, 2015. The trial of Benavente was originally set for Dec. 8, 2014, and then reset to April 27, 2015.
In February 2014, Benavente pleaded guilty to a count of sexual exploitation of a child. The charge that he pleaded guilty to was the June 23, 2013, incident in which he “persuaded, induced, enticed, and coerced” the minor to have sex while being recorded on a cell phone.
Aside from Benavente, Randy A. Igisomar was also indicted in federal court for allegedly lying or changing their stories during Roberto’s trial. Igisomar pleaded guilty.
FBI agents recently arrested Alexandra Castro Macabalo for allegedly enticing her then-15-year-old cousin to have sex with Roberto in exchange for cash.
In September 2014, a federal court jury acquitted Roberto of all charges that he enticed three minor girls to engage in prostitution and one count of witness tampering. Roberto used to serve as acting director of the CNMI Division of Fish and Wildlife.
FBI Agent Park is at it again. Here he is again trying to deface Mr. Roberto who has already been cleared of all charges wrongly thrown at him. What is very disturbing here is that the FBI and the US Attorney General Office is wasting public funds pursuing a person who has already proofed himself innocent of ALL charges. Here is the irony of all that I think everyone overlooked. Mr. Roberto was indicted by a grand jury based on evidence provided by the US Attorney and FBI. Mr. Roberto was indicted for enticing minors for money as presented to a grand jury using a cellphone 789-3443. Yet during the trial, the prosecution changed to another phone number after realizing the 789-3443 belonged to Benavente, During trial Mr. Roberto never denied he owns a cellphone that he had used to communicate with one of the minor’s mother but never with any of the minors. How can you indict a person through evidence presented to a Grand Jury and then change it later on during trial??? Text messages retrieved from 789-3443 where the evidences presented to the Grand Jury that led them to indict Mr. Roberto, but yet Judge Manglona allowed the trial to continue after the prosecution was no longer able to use the number and instead changed it to Roberto’s real phone which was never part of the Grand Jury indictment. I feel really bad for Ms. Alexandra who is now wrongly accused by the prosecution just to continue getting back at Mr. Roberto. Apparently the 2 previous reprimands sanctioned against Agent Park is not enough. I hear that a 3rd one is coming down the pipe and he is now trying to save himself. Strike Three and you’re OUT! Farewell Agent Park on your next duty station…again.