Seven charged with kidnapping and sexually exploiting young girls
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- Category: News
- Published: Friday, 17 May 2019 06:34
- Written by Bill Jaynes
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By Bill Jaynes
The Kaselehlie Press
April 11, 2019
Pohnpei—On April 9, Pohnpei State prosecutors filed criminal charges against charged James Hadley, Jim George, Johnny Rantung, Mariana Silwer, Mayson Victor, Resner Manuel, and Saferi Wantoro for crimes involving sexual exploitation, and abuse of young women aged 14, 15, and 18.
The five sets of criminal information documents, numbered 19-69 through 19-73, alleged that the defendants committed the specific crimes of criminal conspiracy, criminal solicitation, kidnapping, criminal coercion, sexual abuse, trafficking in persons, sexual servitude of a minor, involuntary servitude, pandering, and prostitution.
On the same day, the court found that there was sufficient cause to issue a search and seizure warrant based on the application for the warrant and an accompanying affidavit.
The finding that led to the issuance of the search and seizure warrant is by no means a conviction of the named people. Each is presumed to be innocent unless otherwise proven in court.
The Criminal Information documents indicate that in the case of the 14 year old victim, the crimes were alleged to have been perpetrated over the course of several days in late March. During that time she was allegedly coerced to have sex with several men who may have paid her alleged captors for the opportunity.
The search warrant authorized the search and seizure of commercial vehicles with license plate numbers CV-0106, CV-1400, CV-3780, CV-0501, and CV-4299 that were allegedly used in furtherance of crime.
It also authorized the search and seizure of a shack on the west side of the Dekehtik Causeway as well as a ship or vessel also moored on the west side of the causeway.
The warrant also authorized the seizure of cell phones and other digital and electronic media devices belonging to the accused.
The crimes were alleged to have taken place on the campus of Kolonia Elementary School, Misko’s beach, and the structures and floating vessels on the Dekehtik Causeway named in the search and seizure warrant.
