Man admits to failing
to appear for sentencingThe 27-year-old faces prison
and fines for leaving the state
A 27-year-old man who was caught in Guam after failing to show up at sentencing for sexually assaulting four girls pleaded guilty yesterday in Circuit Court to jumping bail.
Jovie Adora faces a maximum five years' imprisonment and a $10,000 fine when sentenced June 9 before Circuit Judge Derrick Chan.
Chan said yesterday it is possible Adora could face an extended term of 10 years for being a repeat offender and that the term could run consecutive to a 20-year term he is currently serving for the sex assaults.
Adora admitted yesterday that he failed to appear in court for sentencing as ordered on June 4 and had no legal justification for doing so.
After he was returned to Honolulu, Adora claimed he left the courthouse on his sentencing date because he was feeling ill but later boarded a plane to the Philippines with a stopover on Guam.
He later claimed he had maintained all along that he was innocent and was pressured to plead guilty in March 2003 because he and his family had been threatened at gunpoint with harm by unnamed police officers. One of the victims he was convicted of sexually assaulting was the daughter of a policeman.
He did not notify the court or his then-attorney of the threats either at his change of plea or at any other time before sentencing.
In October, Chan rejected Adora's claims of being threatened "unsubstantiated and not plausible," denied his request for a new trial and sentenced him to the maximum 20 years. Adora is appealing the conviction.
Attorney Ben Ignacio, who is representing Adora, said whatever happens in the appeal will not affect the bail jumping case since Adora is not disputing he fled.