HILO, Hawai'i — A Big Island woman charged with attempted murder in the 2005 abuse of a 10-year-old girl is scheduled to plead guilty to lesser charges today under an agreement that will make her eligible to be sentenced to probation.

Hyacinth L. Poouahi, 40, is scheduled to plead guilty in Hilo Circuit Court today to four offenses that are Class B felonies or less, meaning the most prison time she will face for any single charge is 10 years, said her lawyer, Keith Shigetomi.

Shigetomi said the two most serious charges against Poouahi will be dropped or reduced under the agreement.

The most serious charge she faces is attempted murder by omission, based on allegations that Poouahi witnessed assaults and injuries to the child, and had a duty to seek help for the girl. If convicted on that count, she would face a sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole.

She is also charged with kidnapping, which is punishable by a prison term of up to 20 years.

The lesser charges against her include terroristic threatening, first-degree assault and endangering the welfare of a minor.

Shigetomi declined to further discuss the specifics of the deal.

Deputy Prosecutor Rick Damerville declined to discuss the plea agreement until it is given final court approval. Poouahi is scheduled to enter her pleas before Hilo Circuit Court Judge Glenn Hara this morning. Her trial had been scheduled for June 16.

MAGGOT-INFESTED INJURY

Poouahi was a caregiver for the girl, who is now 13, and called an ambulance to Poouahi's 'Ainaloa home on Feb. 7, 2005 when the girl could not be roused.

The girl was not related to Poouahi's family, and police and neighbors have said the girl had been dropped off at the Woodrose Drive home by her mother, who was a friend of Poouahi. Acquaintances of the injured girl and her mother have said the child had an unstable life and had been left with a series of caregivers over the years.

The girl and her family are not being identified by The Advertiser to protect the girl's privacy.

Court records say the ambulance crew found the girl lying on a couch on the lanai of the home with a cut on her head that was "decomposing and containing maggots."

She also had injuries to her upper lip and other areas of her body that showed "signs of decomposition," according to court records.

A doctor at Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women & Children who treated the girl later told police that marks on the girl's body suggested she had been bound, and that "she had several areas of dead tissue about her body as a result of pressure ulcering (often called bedsores) and burns that appeared to be from a cigarette and cigarette lighter," according to a district court affidavit.

The girl also was suffering from severe dehydration and malnutrition, and had broken bones in her left hand and left foot, the doctor reported.

The girl went into cardiac arrest at the hospital and had to be revived, and was in a coma at the hospital for a time.

Poouahi has said the girl's injuries were largely self-inflicted. Poouahi said in a 2005 interview she suspected that the girl cut herself and picked at her wounds, causing a severe infection, and said the girl's condition suddenly deteriorated on Feb. 6, prompting her to call an ambulance the following day.

'PERMANENT INJURIES'

Damerville said the girl is now living with family on the Big Island. He has met with her in connection with the case, and said she is "very sharp, she is just a wonderful child."

"She improves daily, but she has permanent injuries," he said. "She is just a tremendous survivor story. It is a truly inspiring case about a child who just overcame overwhelming odds. The fact that she is alive is a miracle.

"I don't think most people could do what she's done as well as she's done, but she still has suffered profound injuries."

Human Services Director Lillian Koller issued a statement yesterday that "at the Department of Human Services, we are always gratified when individuals who commit acts of child abuse and neglect are brought to justice. We are also gratified that the girl who was victimized in this case continues to thrive in her new home environment."