ST. THOMAS - Three Salvadoran men suspected of committing a sexual assault on a cruise ship listened Wednesday as their relatives, including a high-ranking government official from El Salvador, asked a federal judge to set bail in the case.

U.S. Magistrate Geoffrey Barnard did not immediately rule on the bail request for 22-year-old Alexander Nabih Kanawati, 22-year-old Andrew Parker Wein and 26-year-old Javier Miguel Westerhausen. The cruise passengers have been accused of sexually tormenting a 17-year-old boy and 16-year-old girl on the high seas, and all face charges of assault with intent to commit rape and simple assault.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Cohen asked Barnard to deny bail to the three men. Cohen argued that they were flight risks because El Salvador does not have an extradition treaty with the United States.

If they returned to their home country, "there would be no way for the court to get them back here for trial," Cohen said.

Wein's father, Rodolfo Antonio Parker Soto, is a prominent lawyer and vice president of El Salvador's legislative assembly.

He told the judge he would put up $100,000 in cash as a bail bond, and take personal responsibility for ensuring that his son appeared in the Virgin Islands for every court proceeding.

Soto, who once ran for president of El Salvador as leader of the Christian Democratic Party, said his son is in law school, and missing any more classes could result in his having to repeat a year.

Westerhausen's relative, the owner of a large construction company in Puerto Rico, said he would post bond and take custody of the 26-year-old, who would remain in Puerto Rico while awaiting trial.

Public Defender Jesse Gessin asked Barnard to release Kanawati, a U.S. citizen, on an unsecured bond after the 22-year-old's mother and sister said they would act as custodians, either in El Salvador or, if necessary, on St. Thomas.

The men face between 15 and 21 months in prison on the charged offenses, according to Wein's attorney, George Hodge.

The defendants were arrested when Norwegian Cruise Line's Dawn docked in Havensight on March 20.

Two teenagers told federal investigators that after the Dawn sailed from the British Virgin Islands into international waters on March 16, the three Salvadorans forced them into Kanawati's cabin, then intimidated them into drinking tequila and having sex with each other, according to an affidavit filed by FBI Special Agent Jackson Purkey.

The men took pictures and Westerhausen and Kanawati sexually touched the girl, the teens said, adding they felt they had no choice but to comply with the men's demands.

When Kanawati grabbed the girl and tried to take her into the bathroom, the boy demanded he stop, warning him what he was doing was rape, according to Purkey's affidavit.

The teens reported the ordeal to their parents after leaving Kanawati's cabin.

- Contact Joseph Tsidulko at 774-8772 ext. 332 or e-mail jtsidulko@dailynews.vi.