Governor refuses to comment on Cruz arrest; her office ‘trusts judicial process will take its course’

Even though she trusted him to serve in a variety of high level capacities from the start of her administration and through the past five years, Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero is not providing any comment about the arrest of Adrian Cruz.

Mr. Cruz was arrested June 10, on allegations of fourth degree criminal sexual conduct and child abuse.

Among Ms. Leon Guerrero’s strongest selling points to become Guam’s “first female governor” in 2018, was her so-called concern for women and children survivors of sexual violence.

Instead, the governor has relied on her director of communications, Krystal Paco-San Agustin to answer questions about the arrest, including whether she has been in contact with her former policy advisor and trusted cabinet member-turned arrestee.

“Gov. Leon Guerrero has had no correspondence with Mr. Cruz,” Ms. Paco-San Agustin said in the governor’s stead.

Asked whether the governor has any reaction to the arrest, Ms. Paco-San Agustin answered: “He’s tendered his resignation and is no longer employed with the Government of Guam. We trust the judicial process will take its course.”

KUAM News Thursday, in an interview with the governor also tried to get her reaction to the arrest. According to KUAM’s reporter, Ms. Leon Guerrero walked away from the interview.

“I wasn’t there but as I understand it a crowd had formed and the interview ended,” Ms. Paco-San Agustin said, when Kandit asked why the governor would not answer KUAM’s question about Mr. Cruz.

A high school boy on June 9, submitted a criminal complaint to the Guam Police Department accusing Mr. Cruz of intoxicating him, attempting to have oral sex with him, and offering him drugs in the attempt to have sex with the boy. Cruz was arrested the following day, but released pending further reports from GPD, according to Attorney General Douglas Moylan.

Further action may occur after Friday.

 

Suspicion of an attempted cover up fomenting

On June 10, the day of Mr. Cruz’s arrest and release from jail, he emailed the governor’s office a resignation letter back dated to June 6.

Kandit has been asking the governor’s director of communications, Krystal Paco-San Agustin, since June 9 about Mr. Cruz, including his employment status.

“The administration doesn’t have any information on his arrest or release,” Ms. Paco-San Agustin said. “I can confirm that Governor Leon Guerrero and the Governor’s Office have not interfered with any arrest or release procedures.”

Ms. Paco-San Agustin – on June 10 – also said Mr. Cruz resigned June 6 from the government of Guam. At the time he was the executive director of the Hagatna Restoration and Redevelopment Authority, a position he was just appointed to on May 18, 2023. Prior to that, Mr. Cruz was Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero’s chief policy advisor, among the most influential and trusted positions in the government of Guam.

On June 11, the governor’s director of communications provided to Kandit Mr. Cruz’s resignation letter dated June 6, 2023, but the image was not stamp received with the date upon which the governor’s office received the letter.

The governor’s director of communications has been unable to provide the stamp-received version of the resignation letter. But according to Ms. Paco-San Agustin on June 21, the letter was not received physically by the Central Files Office within the governor’s office, but via email; and it was received June 10, the date of Mr. Cruz’s arrest and release.

Asked whether the governor’s office knew about Mr. Cruz’s arrest on the date he submitted the resignation email, Ms. Paco-San Agustin said, “No.”

 

The allegations

The allegations against Mr. Cruz are disturbing.

According to the boy’s criminal complaint, Cruz approached the boy while he was sitting on a bench at the University of Guam in the early evening hours of May 26, 2023, two days after Typhoon Mawar struck Guam. He was taking advantage of the internet service in the area, according to his complaint. The cabinet member started a conversation about sports, and how he was walking his dogs and needed to go home to shower, the boy said.

“He then asked if I wanted to grab a beer with him at his house and chill,” the boy’s complaint states. The boy agreed to ride with him to his home nearby.

“We got out of his truck and I stood around for a bit because I didn’t know where to sit and it was dark,” the complaint states. “He went through a door and came back to light candles around the front of his house … After he lit the candles he told me where to sit and it was first table as you enter through the gate and into the porch area. There was another section of the porch area through an archway which had a longer table. After you go through that room there’s a sliding door leading into an outside kitchen area where he had the fridge with the drinks. He brought out two cold coronas and tried pouring mine in a glass but I told him that I just drink outa the can.”

Mr. Cruz then brought the boy to his rooftop, brought out a vape, and continued to give the boy beer, according to the complaint. He told the boy he was a “licensed philosopher and he had some psychology knowledge.”

The complaint goes on: “He said he’s a risk taker and that you have to have balls to do anything, and you gotta be patient. He gave me an example of this by telling a story about how he got a higher position at his job. His job is to advise government officials on certain policies and certain problem and he solves whatever they give him to do, he said he helps them ‘think.’ He’s apparently the policy advisor for the governor and that he gets paid a lot to do it, around $80k. He said that since he’s the only one around to do his job he told the governor that he’d quit if she didn’t raise his pay. He was out of work for a year until the governor hired him again to be an advisor, and on his terms meaning he got that higher pay. He said you have to be patient and take risks like that otherwise you won’t get any where, and that if you’re not down then just work an average 9-5.”

The boy then stated he asked the governor’s trusted advisor what he should do once he graduates in order to make more money than what a typical job for young people would pay. This is where the conversation allegedly turned overtly sexual. According to the complaint, Mr. Cruz proceeded to tell the boy about another man who offered the Cruz money in exchange for oral copulation. The conversation then moved to the subject of a girl the boy was interested in, and how the boy had not had sex with this girl.

 

Offer to ‘just jerk off’ the boy

“He then offered to just ‘jerk me off’ since my balls are probably dead and not working anymore,” the boy’s complaint states. “He said if he was me he would’ve already [expletive] all my neighbors and girls I talk to. He said it in a joking way but that started to solidify my thoughts on whether or not this guy was a [expletive] creep. I laughed it off and told him ‘nah ima just wait and try and talk to the girl.’ I was debating if I should run or not but he mentioned he had 10 years of Brazilian jiu jitsu and some years of judo and wrestling both in high school and college, so I wasn’t too sure if I could take him on. I played along a bit more and by this point he brought out our last set of beers- our fourth for both of us. We drank and finished them and I just continued talking about the girl I’m interested in to try and move past that awkward ass ‘joke.'”

Mr. Cruz allegedly continued his sexual innuendo before offering the boy another beer, which he declined, now on full alert for sexual assault. The cabinet member, according to the boy, dispensed advice to the boy on how to convince the girl to have sex with the boy. He then pushed the boy to role play with him, proceeding to lie on a bench and to call the boy to lie on him, according to the complaint.

 

“I felt his … nasty ass grizzle graze up on my neck”

“He put his hand on my inner thigh and told me I got to do that because it subtly shows some interest in her and that it moves the vibes to something more fun. He said if she looks away I have to guide her eyesight back to me by touching her chin and aligning her eyes with mine again. He did it to me and I moved away slightly but he closed the distance once again stating that I have to stay close to show her that it’s more personal. He then put his leg up on the bench we were on and told me if I couldn’t do what he just did then there’s another way. At this point he was sort of lying down on the bench but sitting up, kind of opening up his body. He told me to just turn around and pretend I’m her sitting with me on a date or something. I heard his voice right behind my neck and he told me I got to be up close n personal again. He tried pulling me in for a kind of back hug and he tried kissing my neck I felt his [expletive] nasty ass grizzle graze up on my neck and I pushed him away saying [expletive] you while laughing to try and lighten the situation a bit.”

The governor’s trusted advisor allegedly became more persistent and aggressive, mocking the boy for not wanting to role play, and for dismissing his advances.

 

First oral sex attempt, second ‘jerk off’ attempt, offer of drugs

“He then offered again to just ‘jerk me off really quick’ but I told him nah I don’t swing like that,” the boy wrote.

The governor’s trusted advisor continued to attempt to sway the boy until a little past 10 p.m., the boy said he needed to leave, and Mr. Cruz said, “I could just suck your dick.” The boy refused. The governor’s trusted advisor continued to beg the boy to have sex with him. These detailed allegations are all found in the boy’s complaint.

“I told him no again and that I’m really just not gay. We got into the truck and he started saying it was a shame because he didn’t want anything I could just chill and get my dick sucked without doing anything back but I told him no. He then said damn, ‘I even have these sex poppers, you just pop them and smell the fumes and they make you horny as [expletive] for like two minutes, you gotta feel how it is when you cum while on it.’ I just laughed and said ‘nah man I’m not down.'”