District Judge Lono Lee took Blundell's plea under advisement and set a hearing for Nov. 5 to announce whether he will grant a request by Blundell to defer accepting the no-contest plea to the misdemeanor charge. The deferral would allow Blundell, 63, to avoid a permanent criminal record.

The maximum penalty for the charge of sexual assault in the fourth-degree is up to a year in jail and/or a $2,000 fine.

City Deputy Prosecutor Leilani Ching opposed the request by Blundell's lawyer, Howard Luke, for the deferral.

Ching said after the hearing today that the Prosecutor's Office believes the charge against Blundell is significant enough not to warrant a deferral. Ching said the opposition to the deferral is not because Blundell is a public figure.

There was no specific discussion during the hearing of exactly what Blundell was arrested for, and Luke said after the hearing that he had instructed Blundell not to talk about the matter.

After the hearing, Ching began to describe what Blundell was accused of having done, but was pulled aside by Prosecutor's Office spokesman Jim Fulton and told not to talk about the specifics.

Fulton said Ching was instructed not to talk because the case is still pending in District Court.

The court hearing on Blundell's request for a deferral will be held Nov. 5, two days after the general election.

Blundell, a Republican from West Maui, had been unopposed in his re-election bid for the 10th District. Two Democrats filed just before the deadline and will square off in the primary. One of them will then go against Blundell in the Nov. 3 general election.