80-year sentence for sexual offender

LIHU-E — Thomas Rodrigues, 47, of Kaua-i, was sentenced to eight decades in prison Tuesday for sexually assaulting his step-daughter for more than half of her childhood.

Fifth Circuit Court Judge George Masuoka assessed the sentence after Rodrigues pleaded no contest to six counts of sexual assault.

Kaua-i County Prosecuting Attorney Michael Soong said the offenses stretched over a 10-year period and began when the victim was 8 years old and only ended when she became an adult.

The victim, now in college on the mainland, asked Soong to read her impact statement in court before the judge pronounced sentence on her step-father.

Soong read, “I didn’t have a childhood. While other little girls worried about playing outside with their best friends, I was worried that my mother’s boyfriend would touch me. I had to go alone to the prom because if I went with a boy, I would have been endlessly questioned. I had to be Miss Perfect and still deal with abuse. The person that I trusted lied to me again and again … cheating on his wife” with his step-daughter.

“For 10 years,” Judge Masuoka told Rodrigues, “you made a person suffer and took away a person’s childhood.”

The judge then sentenced Rodrigues to 80 years in prison to be served consecutively.

Anyone else on Kaua-i thinking about committing similar offenses will also “face the wrath of the court,” Masuoka said.

Rodrigues remained silent and with his head down throughout the proceedings.

Rodrigues was arrested in December, according to Soong, and will remain in custody at the Kaua-i Community Correctional Center until he is transferred to an off-island facility to serve out his sentence.

“It’s the longest sentence I can remember that wasn’t a murder,” Soong said. “It was clear to me that the judge was trying to send a message to the community. This is what you’ve got coming if you get caught doing this.”

Staff writer Dennis Wilken can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) and mailto:dwilken@pulitzer.net