SEX CASE DISMISSED 

“The government has recently learned new information that prevents it from meeting its burden at trial,” says Assistant Attorney General Jessica Bargmann in her motion to dismiss their case against Yamasaki Bernard who is charged with rape, deviate sexual assault, sexual abuse first degree and burglary first degree, which are all felonies. The motion was filed earlier this month prior to the jury trial for this case.

The case was dismissed at the request of the government by Associate Justice Lyle L Richmond last Friday.

Bernard is accused of raping a woman while holding a knife to her neck and has been held at the Tafuna Correctional Facility on bail of $100,000.

According to the dismissal motion, the sexual assaults happened between Dec. 24 and  Dec. 26, 2011.

It’s alleged that the first incident occurred on December 24, 2011, where the victim had a knife held to her throat and was raped by the defendant, who had broken into her locked bedroom and appeared intoxicated.

“Defendant raped victim again the next night,” the government’s case alleges, after again breaking into the defendant’s bedroom_. According to the government’s case, on Dec. 25  2013, the second time the defendant allegedly raped the victim she became pregnant as a result of the rape and gave birth to a baby boy on Sept. 7, 2012.

On June 20, 2014 defendant was criminally charged and the matter was scheduled for jury trial on June 29, 2015, however due to new information the government has received they cannot meet their burden at trial.

Court filings say the defendant is a father of six from the independent state of Samoa. Defendant was released last Friday; he’s represented by Sharon Rancourt.

KRUSE ISSUES BENCH WARRANT FOR IOSE JUNIOR LIAINA

Last Friday, June 26, 2015, Chief Justice Michael Kruse signed a bench warrant for Iose Junior Liaina, who failed to appear before the court for his probation revocation hearing.  Liaina was sentenced in December 2012, having pled guilty to second degree burglary, admitting that he burglarized a family home in Leone.

Last month in June, the Probation Office filed a motion to the High Court that the defendant had violated his probation terms, wherein he did not visit the probation office once a month, as ordered by the court, nor had he paid the court ordered fine of $1,000, including the $665 that should have gone to the victim for restitution.

Kruse, during the hearing, asked Public Defender Douglas Fiaui on the whereabouts of the defendant, and was told that they were unable to reach the defendant.

Kruse asked openly in the courtroom if anyone knew the whereabouts of the defendant, and Chief Probation Officer, Malcolm Polu stated that he had tried to contact him via the contact number he had for the defendant but was unsuccessful. Polu said he had visited where the defendant stayed previously, but Liaina was no longer living in that area.

The chief probation officer also told the court that he has reached out to Immigration to determine if defendant had left the island, however there is no information that Liaina has left island. Polu then took the stand and further informed the court that defendant’s last visit to the Probation office was in March 2013 and that he’s yet to pay the fine or restitution to the victim in this case.

According to the government’s case the defendant broke into a home in Leone on February 26, 2012 and took a play station three (PS3), a watch, and black leather Under Armor sport shoes.