Long-delayed case ends in deal

LIHUE — A Hanapepe man charged with third-degree felony sex assault for allegedly engaging in an inappropriate relationship with a teenage girl in his custody will likely not serve any time in jail.

Enden Kaneapua, 49, accepted a plea agreement last week in which he pleaded no contest to two counts of unlawful imprisonment. In exchange, prosecutors dropped all 11 sex-assault charges Kaneapua originally faced and agreed not to request any jail time at his sentencing.

Charges were initially brought against Kaneapua in 2015 based on allegations that in August 2014 he groped and kissed a young girl — court documents state that the girl was between the ages of 14 and 16 — who was then living in his home under his care.

For the next several years, the trial date was pushed back for a variety of reasons. Attorneys on both sides filed motions, requested continuances and regularly attended pretrial conferences, although court records do not indicate what was discussed. Even the court delayed proceedings, in once instance, because a hearing date conflicted with the judge’s vacation schedule.

Nearly four years after Kaneapua was arraigned, the original charges were dropped and a brand new case was brought against him with identical charges, this time based on a grand-jury indictment.

Kaneapua’s attorney, Craig De Costa, filed a motion earlier this month, asking the court to dismiss the charges, accusing prosecutors of violating his client’s right to a speedy trial.

“Subsequent trial dates were continued by agreement of the parties for various reasons including attorney’s schedules, court availability and numerous changes in which deputy prosecutor was assigned to the case,” De Costa wrote in the memo.

The memo also stated that more than 1,500 days had passed since Kaneapua was first charged, “and trial has not commenced,” later noting that most of the delay “was caused by the state not pushing the case to trial.”

Prosecutors disagreed and filed an opposing memorandum, blaming De Costa’s repeated requests for continuances for over 1,200 days of the delay.

Fifth Circuit Judge Randal Valenciano never had to make a ruling on the motion. At a hearing earlier this month, both attorneys agreed to make one last attempt to resolve the matter prior to trial. Finally, last Tuesday, nearly five years after the alleged events took place, a plea deal was reached and every one of the charges that caused four years of disputes and delays was tossed out.

Eleven class C felony counts were replaced by two misdemeanor charges that carry combined a maximum penalty of two years in prison and $4,000 in fines. Kaneapua will not likely face a sentence anywhere near that level of severity. In the no-contest plea deal, the prosecuting attorney agreed “not to request any jail time” and left the decision on whether to impose fines, probation or community service up to the judge.

Kaneapua’s sentencing has not yet been scheduled. He is set to appear in court four months from now to determine whether he is eligible to have the charges stricken from his record at a later date.

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Caleb Loehrer, staff writer, can be reached at 245-0441 or cloehrer@thegardenisland.com.