Help catch
domestic-violence
fugitives

CrimeStoppers asks
the public to turn in
these criminals

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By Rod Antone
Star Bulletin

Domestic violence can come in many forms and can go by many names.

In the case of fugitive Joshua Reed, the crime includes teen rape.

Reed, 25, is wanted for sexually assaulting his 16-year-old ex-girlfriend last October. Reed pleaded guilty last month to holding her and another teenage girl at knife-point in the victim's Kailua home. According to police, Reed had forced the other girl into another room while he sexually assaulted his former girlfriend.

Prior to sentencing however, Reed fled the state by using an alias to board a plane departing for Los Angeles, police said.

Now detectives say they think Reed is back in Hawaii.

"These are examples of how domestic violence plays itself out in our community," said CrimeStoppers Detective Letha Decaires. "It can be in regards to sex assault, stalking, terroristic threatening, battery or violating protective orders."

It is a crime that leaves victims like Reed's wondering what will happen next, especially if their assailants are still at large.

Police said Reed's victim moved to the mainland to get away from him and then moved back when her family heard he had fled to California.

"It's very unsettling for them. These victims don't know whether these perpetrators will pop up again," said Lynne Jenkins McGivern, the former head of the city prosecutor's felony domestic violence branch. "And if they do, what will they be like? Are they going to be high? Violent? Are they going to be like in a honeymoon phase and try to make up? The fear of the unknown is still great in that situation."

Reed is one of dozens of fugitives wanted for domestic violence-related crimes. Ten of them are shown here in a list provided by CrimeStoppers.

Decaires said these 10 are not necessarily the worst or the most dangerous, but they do represent a good cross-section of the different types of domestic-violence violators out there.

One of them, 38-year-old Wesley Damas, was involved in a case similar to Reed's.

Police said Damas was also convicted of breaking into his ex-girlfriend's home and sexually assaulting her, in November 1999. Like Reed, he remains at large.

"The most important thing is safety," said Nanci Kreidman, executive director of the Domestic Violence Clearinghouse. "There's a victim out there that is at great risk, and God forbid you don't do something and that victim gets seriously hurt or killed."

Because of the nature of domestic violence, however, both Kreidman and McGivern acknowledge that a wanted poster may not be enough to convince people to turn someone in.

"I think what ends up happening is that people turn the other way," Kreidman said. "They may say, 'Hey, that's so-and-so's husband,' or, 'That's so-and-so's father or mother.'"

McGivern added, "A lot of people don't see the domestic abuser; they just see the guy at work, the next guy in the cubicle or their drinking buddy."

"Hopefully, people will see what's really going on, that their buddy's wife with the black eye didn't really get it from playing baseball."

There is also concern that by drawing publicity to the crime, the victims involved may be victimized all over again, either by the fugitive or by others who do not know how to handle the situation.

"It is bringing to the surface all of the issues that traumatized the victim again," said McGivern.

Kreidman said those who may know who the victims must be careful in how they approach them if they choose to do so, especially if the victim has never said anything about it before.

"If you know the person who's wanted, likely you know the victim involved." Kreidman said.

"Please be supportive, express concerns for their safety and understand that they are not responsible for the violence that's been perpetrated against them."

"My preference is that you acknowledge that you know and honor that person's privacy if that's what they desire."

Police said there is an urgency however, especially if threats were made to the victim or their family.

In Reed's case, police said he had been stalking the victim prior to the assault and that he repeatedly told her that he would hurt her, her family and her pets.

"The question is whether or when is it going to happen again," said McGivern.

Police said Reed has been known to frequent Waikiki and Kailua areas. He is described as 5 feet 11 inches tall and 160 pounds, with blond hair, green eyes and a tan complexion.

Police ask that anyone with information regarding Reed or any of the above listed fugitives call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300 or *Crime on your cellular phone.

The sad facts of
domestic violence

Here are some U.S. Department of Justice statistics relating to domestic violence from 1998 and 1999:

>> Women age 16-24 experienced the highest per-capita rates of intimate violence (19.6 victimizations per 1,000 women).

>> Almost seven in 10 rape or sexual assault victims said the offender was a relative, a friend or an acquaintance.

>> Family members were most likely to murder a young child. About one in five child murders was committed by a family member -- while a friend or acquaintance was most likely to murder an older child age 15 to 17.

>> For murder victims, 45 percent were related to or acquainted with their assailants; 15 percent of victims were murdered by strangers, while almost 40 percent of victims had an unknown relationship to their murderer.

>> In 1998, women suffered an estimated 876,340 rape, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault and simple assault victimizations at the hands of an intimate partner, down from 1.1 million in 1993. In both 1993 and 1998, men were victims of about 160,000 violent crimes by an intimate partner.

>> Intimate violence is primarily a crime against women: In 1998, females were the victims in 72 percent of intimate murders and the victims of about 85 percent of nonlethal intimate violence.