At the request of the Office of the Attorney General, the case against a 45-year-old man accused of sexually abusing a minor has been dismissed with prejudice.<\/p>\n
That means the government can no longer re-file the case against Joseph Seman Epina.<\/p>\n
Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho also vacated the jury trial in the case that was scheduled for Dec. 16, 2019.<\/p>\n
Epina was charged with sexual abuse of a minor in the first degree and disturbing the peace. He allegedly sexually abused a 12-year-old girl on Saipan on March 12, 2016.<\/p>\n
In the government\u2019s motion to dismiss, assistant attorney general Samantha Vickery said the prosecution believes its evidence is enough to convict Epina but a review of other factors supports the case\u2019s dismissal.<\/p>\n
Last February, Epina\u2019s counsel, assistant public defender Heather M. Zona of the Office of the Public Defender, filed a motion that blamed the OAG for the \u201cunwarranted delay\u201d in the trial. <\/p>\n
Zona filed a motion to dismiss the case for violation of Epina\u2019s right to a speedy trial. Zona said Epina has been forced to wait nearly three years in jail for his case to be resolved.<\/p>\n
Zona said the defendant has been married to his wife for 22 years and they have four daughters. She said Epina and his family have suffered greatly as a result of this case.<\/p>\n
Zona asserted that a criminal defendant has a constitutional right to a speedy trial under both the CNMI and the U.S. constitutions.<\/p>\n
When former prosecutor Elizabeth Weintraub left the OAG in 2017, the case was assigned to then-assistant attorney general Teri C. Tenorio. Tenorio also left the OAG last February.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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