LIHUE — A man accused of trying to sexually assault two underage girls may not understand the wrongfulness of his actions, said one doctor involved in the case. On Tuesday, Eirik Stevens appeared before two judges — Randal Valenciano and
LIHUE — A man accused of trying to sexually assault two underage girls may not understand the wrongfulness of his actions, said one doctor involved in the case.
On Tuesday, Eirik Stevens appeared before two judges — Randal Valenciano and Kathleen Watanabe — to discuss another round of fitness tests after one of the doctors, Marvin Acklin, said Stevens may not understand what he did was wrong.
“This is an examination that is somewhat of a follow up based on the neuropsychological examination,” Valenciano said.
Stevens was deemed fit for trial in October after being examined by Gerald McKenna, Dianne Gerard and a Hawaii Department of Health state designate.
He was arrested in April 2016 after police say he repeatedly attempted to inappropriately touch an 8-year-old girl. In a separate case, the 49-year-old is accused of using treats and snacks to lure a 7-year-old girl into his home, where he sexually assaulted her.
He was later charged with two counts of attempted sexual assault and two counts sexual assault.
On Tuesday, Valenciano, who is presiding over the attempted sexual assault case, said he had not received one of the doctor’s reports.
“We’re still waiting on the report from Dr. McKenna,” Valenciano said. “The request is to wait to receive all of the reports before we proceed with this matter.”
In another courtroom, Watanabe, who is presiding over the sexual assault case, said she hadn’t received McKenna’s report, either.
However, after reading through reports from the other two doctors, Watanabe said the DOH designate, Tom Cunningham, did not change his position on Stevens’ fitness to continue with a trial.
“Dr. Cunningham issued a letter dated Jan. 21, and in that letter, he is stating he is standing behind his original report after having an opportunity to review Dr. Acklin’s report,” she said.
Both judges continued the hearing until March 14.
