A Kekaha man arrested in December 2005 and charged with nine counts of sexual assault against a child witnessed his case dismissed without prejudice in Circuit Court Judge Kathleen Watanabe’s courtroom yesterday. Joseph Sablan, 55, of Kekaha faced up to
A Kekaha man arrested in December 2005 and charged with nine counts of sexual assault against a child witnessed his case dismissed without prejudice in Circuit Court Judge Kathleen Watanabe’s courtroom yesterday.
Joseph Sablan, 55, of Kekaha faced up to 100 years in prison had he been found guilty of all charges, according to his defense lawyer Mark Zenger. According to the indictment, charges included five counts of sexual assault in the first degree and four counts of sexual assault in the third degree. “There were two counts of sexual assault one … a Class A felony,” Zenger said.
The prosecutor in the case, Lila Kanea, declined to comment for this story. Kanae said someone from the Kaua‘i County Department of the Prosecuting Attorney would call with a statement, yet by press time yesterday that call had not been received.
“The charges were that over a course of time between July 1998 and April of 2004 a variety of sexual contacts of different degrees occurred,” Zenger said.
The girl in the case was 9 years old when the alleged abuse began and 15 by the time that it allegedly stopped.
Jury selection began Monday, with opening statements heard on Tuesday. The girl on the side of the prosecution was on the witness stand when the case was dismissed.
Zenger said he made an oral motion yesterday that called into question testimony given at the grand jury proceeding in December 2005. “I felt the indictment was obtained on false testimony,” Zenger said.
Watanabe apparently agreed and dismissed the case.
Sablan declined to comment for this story through his counsel.
“Kaua‘i County prosecutors can take a second look at this case and decide to reindict … the law provides they can take a second shot at it,” Zenger said.
