GARY T. KUBOTA / GKUBOTA@STARBULLETIN.COM Several hundred Maui residents gathered yesterday in Kahului to demonstrate against sexual violence and build awareness about safety precautions after two recent rapes of elderly women.

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Hundreds rally for
elderly rape victims

WAILUKU » Several hundred Maui residents held a rally yesterday at Wakea and Hina avenues in Kahului to show support for two elderly women who were raped in the area.

"After that, it frightened me," said Karen Hue Sing-Ledesma, who lives about a quarter-mile from the site of one attack at Wakea and Hina avenues.

Hue Sing-Ledesma, who travels on a battery-powered wheelchair, said she decided to attend the rally to show her support and help to make the neighborhood a safe place.

A 78-year-old woman was taking a stroll outside Hale Mahaolu, near Wakea and Hina avenues, between 5:30 and 5:45 a.m. June 14 when she was pulled into a brush area and raped, police said.

An 87-year-old woman was raped in the bedroom of her house about 1.5 miles away at 3 a.m. May 30, police said. They said the man broke a window to enter the house and took her handbag containing cash and other items.

Marian Kaauamo, 72, who lives at the nearby Hale Mahaolu senior project, said she felt the event had heightened awareness and reminded residents to travel during daylight hours and always take a friend.

Hale Mahaolu Executive Director Roy Katsuda, who helped to organize the event, said he was happy with the turnout and had passed out about 400 T-shirts publicizing the event.

He said several hundred people were expected eventually to attend the sign-waving demonstration.

"The biggest thing is to raise awareness and to let the victims know there are a lot of people who care about them," he said.

Maui Police Lt. Glenn Cuomo said the investigation into the two rapes is continuing, and detectives are still looking at whether there is any connection between them.

Hale Mahaolu, a nonprofit housing corporation subsidized by the federal government, is the largest senior-assistance housing area in Kahului, with two projects at Hina and Wakea avenues serving an estimated 345 people.