KAILUA-KONA — A sexual assault case in which two boys are suspected of attacking a woman at Old Airport Park last September is now in the hands of county prosecutors.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Sheri Lawson said Tuesday that they have the case and that it’s in the process of being reviewed.
That review, she said, includes looking at police reports and evidence in order to determine whether to bring charges against any suspects. She didn’t have a timeline on when that review would be complete.
While the attack reportedly involved two juvenile suspects, police said Tuesday that, so far, they have only been able to identify one “viable, prosecutable suspect.”
That suspect, said Hawaii Police Department Maj. Robert Wagner, is the same one who was arrested on Sept. 4, 2016, one day after the reported attack.
“There was another juvenile interviewed, but at this time (there is) not enough evidence to prosecute that individual if they were involved,” Wagner said in an email. “I would definitely say the other juvenile spoken to is a possible suspect, a person of interest, but we have so far failed to connect the dots satisfactory for prosecution.”
Wagner said prosecutors still get the whole report with anybody who was interviewed or arrested, but that at this time there was only enough evidence to prosecute the one suspect.
“Should that change, then the other suspect will be sought for prosecution,” he said. “Or if after the prosecutors review the report and feel there is enough to go after the other suspect, then the other suspect will be prosecuted.”
Wagner told West Hawaii Today earlier this month that the case was referred to prosecutors at the end of March.
Police first announced the case last September and that it involved two minors accused of sexually assaulting and attacking a woman at Old Kona Airport Park on Sept. 3.
At 8:35 p.m. that day, police said, two boys reportedly approached the woman, punched and sexually assaulted her. Police added that the boys reportedly fled when confronted by an unidentified person.
Police arrested one suspect, a 15-year-old boy, one day later. He was later released into his parents’ custody, police said.
Wagner said that arrest, made on Sept. 4, was the only arrest he was able to confirm.
Police in February said they had identified the second boy, saying he was “brought in and interviewed.”
The case received widespread attention from many local residents, about a dozen of whom staged a demonstration in October saying the case wasn’t being given enough attention, with some expressing concern about safety in the area given that the suspect who was arrested had been released back into his parents’ custody.
School officials have said they cannot comment on whether the boy attended a local public school. The Department of Education’s director of communications previously said student privacy laws prevent them from discussing any case involving students.
