A 43-year-old man who sexually abused a then-14-year-old girl in November 2013 was slapped on Friday with 6.5 years of imprisonment. <\/p>\n
Jose Mendiola Cepeda was sentenced to 15 years in prison, all suspended except for 6.5 years, for sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree.<\/p>\n
He was given credit for 27 days of time served.<\/p>\n
Superior Court Associate Judge Kenneth L. Govendo said the sentence shall be served without the possibility of parole.<\/p>\n
Cepeda was allowed to start serving the prison term at the Department of Corrections this Friday at 8am.<\/p>\n
After completing his prison term, he will be placed on supervised probation for 10 years.<\/p>\n
Cepeda was ordered to pay a $2,000 fine, $100 court costs, and $1,000 probation fees. He was required to pay restitution in the amount of $842 for psychological examination costs and $487 for the costs of the psychological examination report.<\/p>\n
He was ordered to perform 200 hours of community service, register with the CNMI Sex Offender Registry, and submit to an examination focusing on sex offender counseling.<\/p>\n
During his probation, Cepeda will be prohibited from having any contact with the victim and shall stay away from her house, school, and employment.<\/p>\n
Cepeda signed a plea deal. He pleaded guilty to sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree on May 10, 2016.<\/p>\n
The remaining count of sexual abuse of a minor in the third degree was dropped.<\/p>\n
Cepeda sexually abused the victim in November 2013 on Saipan.<\/p>\n
The plea deal recommends a sentence between five and eight years of actual jail time.<\/p>\n
Chief Prosecutor Michele Harris, counsel for the government, recommended a sentence of eight years in prison.<\/p>\n
Attorney Michael W. Dotts, counsel for Cepeda, recommended five-year imprisonment., characterizing Cepeda\u2019s crime as not that of a sexual predator or pedophile Dotts said it was essentially a crime of opportunity as the two were alone on the couch.<\/p>\n
Dotts said nothing in the record suggests that Cepeda will commit the offense again or pose a danger to the society. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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