LIHUE — A man who police say sexually assaulted two underage girls while volunteering at the Boys & Girls Club will no longer go to trial. On Monday, Eirik Stevens appeared before Judges Kathleen Watanabe on two cases relating to
LIHUE — A man who police say sexually assaulted two underage girls while volunteering at the Boys & Girls Club will no longer go to trial.
On Monday, Eirik Stevens appeared before Judges Kathleen Watanabe on two cases relating to the same incident.
The 49-year-old was arrested in April 2016 after police said he repeatedly attempted to inappropriately touch an 8-year-old girl. In a separate case, he 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, in another case, two counts of sexual assault.
Stevens, who lives in Lihue, was originally set to go to trial in August. But on Monday, he pleaded no contest to sexual assault in the second degree and attempted sexual assault in the third degree.
In March, the court ruled that Stevens was fit to proceed with trial after he was examined by Drs. Gerald McKenna, Dianne Gerard and Tom Cunningham. All three doctors agreed he could proceed.
Stevens’ fitness to continue with court proceedings has been a topic of interest since he started appearing in court.
In October, he was found fit to go trial, but his attorney, Emmanuel Guerrero, ordered another round of tests after a doctor from that panel, Marvin Acklin, determined Sevens may not understand the wrongfulness of his actions.
He will be sentenced on Oct. 18.
Stevens is facing 15 years in prison.
“We are confident that we will obtain a result of substantial prison time, while protecting the minor victims from the trauma of testifying in open court at a jury trial,” said Justin Kollar, prosecuting attorney.
