Posted on: Friday, June 24, 2005

Palolo man charged in sex assault

By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer

A 36-year-old Palolo man was arrested and charged last night with exposing himself to a female University of Hawai'i-Manoa student last week.

Desmond Higa of Ahe Street was charged with one count of fourth-degree sexual assault, harassment and for an outstanding warrant. Bail was set at $6,050.

On June 16, a 31-year-old woman told police she parked her car on Kamehameha Avenue near College Hill about 8:50 a.m. and began to walk to campus. The woman said a man in a parked car asked her a question, police said.

The woman approached the passenger side of the car and realized the man was naked from the waist down. Police said the man reached over and grabbed the woman, but she broke free and the man drove away.

Higa was arrested by members of the Waikiki Crime Reduction Unit last night on the warrant. While in custody, police identified him as the suspect in the June 16 incident.

The June 16 case led university officials to issue an alert to faculty and students to be vigilant in light of several sexual assaults in the university area.