Big Island man gets 20-year sentence for rape, kidnapping

KAILUA-KONA — A Big Island man convicted in the 2016 rape of a woman has been sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.

Samuel Latrik, 19, was sentenced Monday in 3rd Circuit Court after pleading guilty in November to charges that included sexual assault, assault and kidnapping, West Hawaii Today reported .

Latrik and Tyron Sigrah, 18, were convicted of holding the woman against her will and beating and raping her at the Old Kona Airport Park in September 2016.

“I just want to reiterate how vicious the muscular one was — the suffocation, the continuous punches to my face,” the victim told the court. The Associated Press does not generally name victims of sexual assault.

In previous court testimony, the victim referred to the attackers as the skinny boy and the muscular boy, who was later identified as Latrik. DNA evidence linked them to the crime.

“There are really no words to express how this has affected my life,” the victim told the court. “I’m still unemployed. I have night terrors.”

Deputy prosecutor Sheri Lawson argued against giving Latrik youthful offender status, which would have allowed for a maximum sentence of eight years because of the teen’s age at the time of the crime.

“This was a very deliberate and intentional choice to rape a woman in our community,” Lawson said. “He made a very, very adult choice, and he needs to face that consequence.”

Latrik gave a statement to the court, saying he takes full responsibility for his actions and he hopes the victim will be able to forgive him someday.

“Words cannot explain the hurt and sorrow I feel in my part in that horrible night,” Latrik said.

He will be required to register as a sex offender.

The Hawaii Paroling Authority recently set an 11-year minimum prison term for Sigrah, who was sentenced to up to 20 years in prison. It will have six months to set the minimum for Lartik.

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Information from: West Hawaii Today, http://www.westhawaiitoday.com