‘Some cops sexually abused Basa in her youth’
Annette N. Basa, a 36-year-old woman who pleaded guilty to sex trafficking of children, was sexually abused by some police officers when she was young, according to court documents filed in federal court by attorney Steven P. Pixley.
Meanwhile, U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona on Monday granted Pixley’s unopposed motion to continue the sentencing of his client, Basa, from Sept. 24, 2014, to Nov. 25, 2014.
As this developed, the 12 federal court jurors will resume this morning, Wednesday, their deliberations in the case against Raymond B. Roberto.
The case against Basa and former firefighter Richard S. Benavente is somehow related to Roberto’s case. Roberto, 41, is a former acting director of the Division of Fish and Wildlife who in on trial for three counts of enticing three minors to engage in prostitution and one count of witness tampering.
In Basa’s sentencing memorandum filed in court in May, Pixley said it is “perhaps an understatement” to say that Basa has had a difficult childhood.
Indeed, Pixley said, Basa’s mother moved to Guam when she was young and she dropped out of school at an early age.
Pixley disclosed that Basa was also the victim of sexual abuse when she was young.
“This sexual abuse was perpetrated primarily by police officers employed by the Department of Public Safety,” said Pixley, adding that this abuse left his client with a variety of psychological problems.
Pixley retained Dr. Laura L. Post, a psychiatrist, to evaluate Basa. Post’s psychiatric evaluation of Basa was filed under seal.
Pixley said a review of Post’s psychiatric report and other evidence support a finding that Basa has significant reduced mental capacity.
At the time of her arrest on Aug. 14, 2013, Basa was reportedly the primary caregiver for her father, who is in poor health. She has remained under detention.
Last Friday, Pixley filed in court a request to continue the sentencing date from Sept. 24 to sometime in November 2014 due to Post’s unavailability on Sept. 24.
Pixley said that Post is an important expert witness for Basa and that Assistant U.S. Attorney Rami S. Badawy does not oppose a new sentencing date.
Badawy himself asked the court in July to continue the previous sentencing date of Aug. 29, 2014, as the prosecution needs more time to have Basa examined by their own expert.
Basa is being accused of recruiting and enticing two underage girls into prostitution.
Last Feb. 28, Basa, who appeared with her court-appointed counsel Pixley, pleaded guilty to a count charging her with sex trafficking of children.
Under the statute, that offense is punishable by at least 10 years in prison and a maximum of life imprisonment.
The original sentencing date was June 6, 2014.
According to the plea deal, from April 1, 2013, to July 16, 2013, Basa recruited, enticed, and harbored a 15-year-old girl to engage in commercial sex acts.
Using a cell phone, Basa arranged meetings with adult males and the girl, and then drove the girl to meeting sites for the purpose of having those men have sex with her.
Basa gave the girl condoms for those meetings. Basa received money and/or methamphetamine or “ice” from the men in exchange.
The indictment charged Basa and co-defendant Benavente for engaging in sexual exploitation and sex trafficking of two minors.
According to the indictment, Benavente, a firefighter, persuaded the two girls to have sex with him and recorded the incident using a cell phone. This allegedly happened twice.
The indictment alleged that on April 1, 2013, Basa recruited and enticed the two girls to engage in “commercial sex act.”
A Federal Bureau of Investigation special agent alleged that Benavente took videos of himself having sex with two 15-year-old girls. Basa allegedly offered the girls to the firefighter in exchange for methamphetamine or “ice” and an unspecified amount of money.
Benavente has already pleaded guilty. Roberto’s defense team called him at the trial as one of their nine witnesses.
Mr. Pixley,
That’s old news. They did it in the detective vehicles, in the evidence room, DPS work place and it happened mostly during working hours. And she gets the key and connection to the CNMI DPS higher up.
There are more to this story than what was being exposed in the CNMI media. We are humans, we can hear, see, taste and smell.
Thank you
Who are the police officers? Can they list their names?
Buenas pinoy power,
Off course, based on what she had been stating in the past, there were a lot of them and the only one can list the names of the officers is the person we are discussing above. Imagine, she would state who has the biggest one and who has the smallest and that in itself make her allegation above have merit. I think, the Ms. above took the fall for many, because many were participants in this case or similar cases in the past.
Maybe, the feds may pressure her to expose who had been distributing ammunitions from the DPS to the general public, because she knows the inside world of the CNMI DPS down to the core. And she could exposed those cops that are into the drug trade in the CNMI. Plea Bargain is the name of the game for the Ms. above and the authorities (FBI, DEA, ATF, not the local corrupted bunch)can extract a lot of information from her and she is a trophy for the feds. But again, the feds would report to their higher ups in D.C. that the CNMI is a crime free zone and they look the other way.
Si Yu’us Ma’ase
Why just now that she is starting to tell that she was sexually abuse? Something is not right!
Buenas pinoy power,
No, it was not just now that she is saying something, because she had been stating in the past about such predicaments and no one listens to her. She goes to the extend that she mentioned where, whom, how they did it to her. In the evidence room, detective’s vehicles and in the DPS compound. Also, based on our observation, there were other minors involved with such scam in the past and those former minors should come forward for justice to be served.
What is up with multiple sex partners these days in the CNMI? The lady above we are mentioning had experienced such episode with the DPS. The Feds needs to further investigate such violation of the United States Statute, so they can get rid of the bad cops within the DPS. Remember that drugs where involve in the case above and there was probability that the officers involved in the past with her, deals with the drug trade in the CNMI.
This individual can point fingers for whom were involved in her circle. It is known that she has an inside connection within the DPS and its higher ups.
Si Yu’us Ma’ase