Man accused of sexually assaulting two minors

LIHUE — A Lihue man has been deemed fit to continue with court proceedings and is headed for trial.

On Tuesday, Eirik Stevens appeared before Judge Randal Valenciano and Judge Kathleen Watanabe on attempted sexual assault and sexual assault charges for a status hearing on two cases stemming from a 2016 arrest.

The hearing was to determine if Stevens is fit to proceed with trial after being examined by three doctors — Gerald McKenna, Dianne Gerard and Tom Cunningham.

“All three doctors reports have been received, and all three doctors are in agreement as to the issue of fitness; the defendant is fit to proceed,” Watanabe said.

In October, Stevens was found fit to go to trial, but Guerrero ordered another round of tests after one of the doctors, Marvin Acklin, said Stevens may not understand the wrongfulness of his actions.

Stevens was arrested in April 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, both Emmanuel Guerrero, Stevens’ attorney and Keola Siu, deputy prosecuting attorney, accepted the doctor’s findings.

“Given the stipulation by counsel to accept the unanimous findings of the three-panel, this court makes a finding on the record that Mr. Stevens is in fact fit to proceed,” Watanabe said.

He is set to go to trial on that case on Aug. 7.

In another courtroom, Valenciano, who is presiding over the attempted sexual assault case, also accepted the findings of the three-panel.

“The court has all the reports, and they all have the same consensus — that Mr. Stevens is fit to proceed,” Valenciano said.

The trial for that case is set for July 17.