Man, 51, allegedly sexually abused minor on Tinian

Police arrested Thursday morning a 51-year-old man at the San Jose Housing Turnkey on Tinian for allegedly sexually abusing a 16-year-old girl.

Godfrey Sablan Mendiola was taken before Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho on Friday for bail hearing on charges of two counts of sexual abuse of a minor in the first degree and one count of sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree.

Bail was set at $50,000 cash; preliminary hearing is on Sept. 14.

Assistant public defender Cindy Nesbit was appointed counsel for Mendiola. Assistant attorney general Teri Tenorio is prosecuting.

Police said a woman called the Tinian Department of Public Safety last Aug. 3 and asked for police assistance about a sexual abuse case.

The alleged victim told the Division of Youth Services that Mendiola inappropriately touched her on two separate occasions, first between last April 2 and 8, and the second time last July 23.

The girl confided about what happened to a friend. Police talked to the friend, who corroborated the girl’s account.

The girl told her mother about the matter. The mother then called the police.