Jury Trial Set for July 8 in Federal Child Pornography Case

A federal jury trial has been scheduled for July 8, 2025, at 10 a.m. in the U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands in the case against Nicolas Franklin Salas Palacios, who faces charges of possession of and access with intent to view child pornography.

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.

Banes waived the reading of the indictment and reiterated Palacios’ not guilty plea in open court. The indictment includes a forfeiture notice, signaling that if convicted, Palacios may be required to forfeit specific items or face a money judgment as an alternative.

Manglona confirmed that Palacios would remain in custody until the case is resolved. Pre-trial motions must be filed by May 28, with motions in limine due by June 13.

A motion in limine is a preliminary or pretrial motion used to request the court to make a ruling on the admissibility of specific evidence before the trial begins.

Parties are also required to submit jury instructions, witness lists, and marked exhibits in advance of the trial date.

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.

Outside the courtroom, Banes emphasized Palacios’ constitutional rights and the presumption of innocence.

“There was an arraignment and he pled not guilty at this time,” Banes said. “Until he's proven guilty, he's innocent. We all have that right.”

Banes also acknowledged that his client had experienced a personal episode prior to the arraignment but said Palacios is now doing better.

“He’s recovered from that and seems to be doing better,” Banes added. “I'm going to defend him to the limits of our Constitution, which is what is expected of every lawyer.”

Palacios remains detained at the Department of Corrections pending trial.

Assistant U.S. attorney Garth Backe represented the federal government, while Gregory Arriola, on behalf of the U.S. Probation and Pre-Trial Services, also attended the arraignment.