‘Boy’ Carvalho found not
guilty of rape, kidnapping

By Crystal Kua
Star-Bulletin

Alexander "Boy" Carvalho Jr. dabbed his eyes with wadded-up tissue after a Circuit Court judge yesterday declared that he was a free man.

A jury found Carvalho not guilty of 14 felony counts of sexual assault and a single count of kidnapping.

After the verdict was read, Circuit Judge Michael Town ordered that Carvalho be set free from the Oahu Community Correctional Center, where he has been held for the past six months.

While the prosecution said a dangerous man is being released, the defense said justice was done and Carvalho is ready to move on.

"Boy is very happy with this. He has faith in the system," Deputy Public Defender David Hayakawa said. "He just wants to really get on with his life."

Hayakawa described Carvalho as a handyman who does construction and car repairs.

Carvalho, 46, was charged with sexually assaulting and kidnapping his former girlfriend, Nora Castro, between Feb. 27 and March 25.

It's the second time that Carvalho has been acquitted of charges that stemmed from allegations made by Castro, 43.

In 1996, Castro -- who then went by her married name of Pacheco -- accused Carvalho of beating and threatening her. She later recanted her story to the news media and to Carvalho's lawyer.

Carvalho was convicted of manslaughter in 1987 in the death of his wife Cathie, a conviction jurors were told about in the current case.

Castro and Carvalho first met in the 1970s and then rekindled their relationship while he was in prison in 1993. When he was paroled in 1996, they lived together.

In the present case, Carvalho denied that he forced Castro to have sex and held her against her will.

Hayakawa told jurors that Castro's extreme jealousy, anger and possessiveness led her to falsely accuse Carvalho for a second time.

Hayakawa said after yesterday's verdict that Castro and Carvalho are a "bad mix."

"I think every single person in this case -- his family, her family, law enforcement, everybody -- just hopes that these two stay away from each other," Hayakawa said. "Hopefully, they both will stay away from each other."

Hayakawa said the jury verdict, which came in the midafternoon, showed that the charges should not have been brought against Carvalho.

Deputy Prosecutor Lynn McGivern said the case was a difficult and complex one to prosecute but she is concerned because she believes Carvalho committed the crimes he was charged with.

"We do believe that this particular defendant is a threat to women," she said. "We believe that he brutalized this particular victim. We also believe he has the capacity to do it again."

Nancy Kreidman, executive director of the Domestic Violence Clearinghouse, said: "It's too easy to get discouraged. I don't want other victims to be discouraged and not seek help when needed."

Kreidman said Castro has received support and she hopes that Castro will be safe and go forward with her life.