Posted on: Monday, May 2, 2005

Man held in child sex assault

By Peter Boylan
Advertiser Staff Writer

Police yesterday held a 39-year-old Wai'anae man in custody as a suspect in the sexual assault of an 8-year-old girl last week.

Numerous calls to the CrimeStoppers hotline resulted in a tip that led detectives to the man's apartment at 10:30 p.m. Saturday night, where they arrested him, police Detective Alex Garcia said.

The man lives with his sister about 100 yards from the vacant lot where the girl was assaulted, Garcia said.

The victim identified the man, and he was arrested on suspicion of first-degree sexual assault and kidnapping, Garcia said.

The girl and her family were at the Wai'anae Neighborhood Community Center Thursday when a stranger lured her away about 9 p.m., police said. The girl told police she was taken to a nearby vacant lot and sexually assaulted.

When family members noticed she was missing, they searched the area and found her in the lot, police said.

Police said they will send the case to the prosecutor's office today for possible charges.

The Wai'anae Neighborhood Community Center sits just makai of the Kau'iokalani public housing complex where the victim lives, and where resident and Neighborhood Watch organizer Pearl Bautista had been struggling to muster seven regular volunteers to keep an eye on the housing complex.

As word spread of the attack, Bautista organized a Neighborhood Watch meeting Friday, the night after the assault. Seventeen volunteers stepped forward to keep an eye on the housing complex.

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8110.