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A potential plea agreement for Nicolas Franklin Salas Palacios, who faces charges of possession of and access with intent to view child pornography, is on hold after a change of plea hearing was held in the U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands yesterday. Parties appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Heather L. Kennedy.
As Marianas Press reported in May, Palacios entered a plea of not guilty during his arraignment last May 14 before Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona. He confirmed he received and reviewed the indictment filed by the federal grand jury on May 13, 2025, alongside his attorney, David Banes. At the May court hearing, a federal jury trial was scheduled for July.
“Judge Kennedy had some legal issues or concerns related to the possible plea agreement. So she wants us to look at some legal issues and return on Monday…[for a status conference],” Banes told Marianas Press in an interview after the hearing outside the court. He added, “I’ve got to do some legal research and talk with the prosecution and we will take it from there.”
Palacios was arrested on April 22, 2025, following an investigation by the FBI that stemmed from a community tip and a separate alert from Google, which flagged Palacios’ account for uploading explicit images of minors. The investigation led to the seizure of several electronic devices from his residence. According to the FBI, Palacios admitted during questioning that he accessed child pornography via the dark web and torrent software.
Palacios remains detained at the Department of Corrections. Assistant U.S. Attorney Garth Backe represented the federal government.
Story by Thomas Manglona II
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