Pair gets jail time for sexual assault; cofedendant to be sentenced later this month

October 15, 2021- Tamuning, Guam – Burton Borja and Dwayne Piyelit, two males who previously pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 16-year-old female at a BBQ in 2019, were sentenced today alongside their codefendant Joleen-Lee Rankin, who obtained footage of the incident from one of the men’s phones and distributed it on Facebook Messenger.

Burton Borja and Dwayne Piyelit testified at the jury trial of Vianney Nennis Hosei under the terms of their plea agreements, wherein both men pleaded guilty to Third Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct. Prosecuting Attorney Christine Tenorio recognized Borja’s cooperation and asked for a prison term of four years, but noted that Piyelit was not cooperative and asked the court to sentence him to a term of six years. The Court sentenced them to three and six years, respectively. Hosei, who was convicted by jury trial back in April and faces a mandatory minimum of 16 years in jail, will be sentenced on October 29, 2021.

Rankin pleaded guilty to Criminal Facilitation of Dissemination of Child Pornography as a Third Degree Felony and faced one to four years incarceration at the Department of Corrections. Based on input from the victim, Tenorio did not request any additional jail time for Rankin.

Attorney Tenorio said, “I want to recognize the strength of the victim, who not only had to endure reliving the incident during trial, but who endured the attempts made to blame her for this terrible crime. The sentences imposed by the court show that alcohol does not excuse this type of reprehensible behavior and that anyone who takes advantage of a physically helpless individual will be sentenced accordingly.”