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Mililani rapist A former prison guard accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting teen-age girls in Mililani in 1997 may be spending the rest of his life in prison.
could draw life term
The prosecutor says the
victims waited three years
for justice but finally got itBy Suzanne Tswei
Star-BulletinDeputy Prosecutor Rom Trader said he plans to seek consecutive life sentences for James Allen Thompson, who was convicted yesterday of 18 counts of sexual assault and two counts of kidnapping. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 10.
It was the third trial for Thompson in relation to a series of well-publicized attacks on girls walking alone in Mililani. The two previous trials ended in mistrial.
"We can't tell you how pleased we are," said Trader, the lead prosecutor. "The victims in this case have been through a lot ... basically they waited three years for justice, and this jury gave it to them."
Defense attorney Todd Eddins declined to comment on why the prosecution was successful in its third try other than to praise the "top-notch prosecutors who did a terrific job."
Trader, the lead prosecutor in this trial, said he believed the overwhelming evidence helped the jury convict Thompson quickly. The jury, consisting of eight women and four men, returned the guilty verdicts on the second day of deliberations.
"He is a very dangerous man. He needs to spend the rest of his life in jail," Trader said. Because of the multiple offenses, the prosecution will seek extended sentences, which may result in Thompson's spending the rest of his life in prison, Trader said.
Thompson was convicted of kidnapping three girls, forcing them into his car and driving them to remote locations where he forced them to perform sex acts.
A fourth girl saw him masturbating when he stopped her for directions, and she took down the license number of his car for police, Trader said.
Thompson was convicted of seven counts of first-degree sexual assault, two counts of attempted first-degree sexual assault, eight counts of third-degree sexual assault, one count of fourth-degree sexual assault and two counts of kidnapping.
The jury deadlocked over another kidnapping charge involving a fifth girl who said she escaped after Thompson kidnapped her at knife point.
Trader said the prosecution likely would not be seeking to retry the kidnapping charge.
The victims ranged in age from 14 to 16 and have been traumatized by their attacks, Trader said. With the guilty verdicts, "hopefully the girls will have peace of mind ... and the families, they can put this behind them," he said.