Posted on: Saturday, November 6, 2004
No jail for state rep in sex case
By David Waite
Advertiser Staff Writer
A judge's ruling yesterday means State Rep. Brian Blundell will avoid a permanent criminal record if he stays out of trouble for the next 12 months and abides by conditions similar to probation.
Among the conditions is that Blundell, 63, participate in the Hawai'i Sex Offender Treatment Program until discharged by his therapist.
The charges arose out of a July 15 incident in which Blundell was accused of groping an undercover police officer in a public restroom at Kapi'olani Park.
City Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Leilani Ching had asked Lee to sentence Blundell to six month's probation and a $500 fine. Had Lee denied the deferral and found Blundell guilty of the sex assault charge, he would have faced a maximum sentence of up to a year in jail and/or a $2,000 fine.
"This kind of behavior should not be condoned," Ching said, noting that Blundell was an elected state representative at the time the charges were filed.
But Blundell's lawyer, Howard Luke, pointed to a pre-sentence report, saying all five key assessment criteria bolstered the deferral request.
Blundell lost in his bid for re-election Tuesday in one of the closest races in the state — by just 56 votes to Democrat Tam Kanaka.
Blundell had no Democratic opponent before the sexual assault charges were brought against him.
Blundell, in court yesterday on misdemeanor sexual assault charges, asked District Judge Lono Lee to defer accepting his no-contest plea to the charges. When the judge granted the request, it cleared the way for an end to the case.
Brian Blundell
