Attorney General Leevin Camacho gagged his prosecutors from working with senators to update Guam’s laws. That gag order affected prosecutors’s attempts with senators to strengthen sex crimes laws. This information is according to a source from the Office of the Attorney General of Guam.
Kandit sent a Freedom of Information Act request to OAG spokeswoman Carlina Charfauros for the gag order. Mr. Camacho sent the gag order via email to prosecutors, according to the source.
“There were very important bills on sex crimes statutes improvements,” the source told Kandit, referring to potential legislation by senators during Camacho’s tenure as AG. “After he sent that email, there were even emails from senators asking for help that went unanswered.”
Several cases over the years involving allegations of sexual assault of children and women resulted in either no prosecution, or plea bargains favorable to rapists because of antiquated sex crimes laws.
Outdated statutes
“The statutes were basically outdated,” Sen. Frank Blas, Jr. said. “Based on the new rules of evidence, they needed to be updated. The prosecutors came to me and said, ‘We’re losing cases the way the laws are written and with the new rules of evidence in place.’ We’re looking at statutes written in the ’50s and ’70s.”
The prosecution of Dr. Abner Pasatiempo may be an example of this, and surely has raised red flags in the prosecution division. At least seven women, who were under his medical care, accused Pasatiempo of sexual misconduct ranging from sexual harassment to sexual assault.
Yet, the attorney general only charged Pasatiempo with official misconduct, a misdemeanor; which is why he has not been extradited to face felony charges on Guam. And it wasn’t the sex crimes prosecutor at the time, Christine Tenorio, who made that decision.
“He never consulted Christine on that case,” a source told Kandit. “That case should have been a CSC case.”
Other alleged sex crimes, where no prosecution has been initiated include complaints made against a former police officer and a law enforcement chief at the airport authority. Whether the reason for the lack of prosecution in these cases and others is related to antiquated laws and the new rules of evidence adopted by the Guam courts is known only within the confines of the OAG.
But its prosecutors, who understand the legal impediments to criminal justice for sex crimes victims, know what needs to change, and have been eager to work with senators on updated the laws.
OAG ghosted senators
Prosecutors and victims advocates initiated the recently-enacted Sexual Assault Victim Privacy Act, championed by Sen. Blas.
“No one went to the public hearing [because of the gag order],” a source said. “They [the OAG administration] just don’t care.”
Mr. Blas confirmed what the source said. “When we went to see if anyone would testify, the answer was, ‘no.'”
“There should be a legislative inquiry into what’s going on there at the AG’s office,” Mr. Blas, who is part of the Republican minority of the legislature, said. “The governor herself also needs to ask, ‘What’s going on? Are the prosecutors getting support?’ Because even though the AG is elected, she’s still in charge of the executive branch.”
Kandit reached out to Speaker Therese Terlaje, who has legislative oversight of the OAG, asking if she is considering a legislative inquiry on the situation within the OAG. She has not responded as of the publication of this story.
