A registered sex offender, who is currently being accused of sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl last year, pleaded guilty Tuesday in the Superior Court and was slapped with a two-year prison term.<\/p>\n
Benjamin Mafnas Hattori, 41, pleaded guilty to violation of the Sex Offender Registry and domestic violence: disturbing the peace as part of a plea deal with the government.<\/p>\n
Associate Judge Teresa Kim-Tenorio sentenced Hattori to three years in prison, with one year suspended, the remaining to be served without the possibility of parole or early release.<\/p>\n
Hattori was given credit for time served; he was arrested on Dec. 12, 2018.<\/p>\n
After completing his prison term, Hattori will be placed on five years of probation, during which he will be prohibited from having any contact with the girl.<\/p>\n
He was required to write a letter of apology to the victim and perform 100 hours of community service. During his probation, he is not allowed to possess or consume any alcoholic beverages.<\/p>\n
As part of the plea deal, the remaining charge\u2014sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree\u2014 was dropped.<\/p>\n
Assistant public defender Stephanie Boutsicaris represented the defendant; assistant attorney general Samantha Vickery prosecuted the case.<\/p>\n
Hattori is registered on Saipan as a Tier 3 sex offender. On Nov. 21, 2018, he resided with a woman and her four minor children in Garapan.<\/p>\n
According to the plea deal, Hattori entered the victim\u2019s bedroom repeatedly on Nov. 21, 2018, and inappropriately touched her thigh and kissed her cheek, causing the girl to feel scared.<\/p>\n
Hattori was convicted in Guam of 3rd degree criminal sexual conduct as a second-degree felony in September 2002. The victim in that case was a 15-year-old girl.<\/p>\n
Hattori then relocated to Rota. <\/p>\n
In October 2015, a jury acquitted Hattori of burglary, but Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho convicted him of theft and criminal mischief in connection with the burglary of a store on Rota owned by former mayor Melchor Mendiola.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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