Ex-bank exec
gets probation in
child sex assault
A former First Hawaiian Bank executive was sentenced yesterday to five years probation for sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl at his downtown condo -- conduct that a judge called inexcusable.
Alfred Gross, 67, a senior vice president who retired after the June 6, 2002, attack, had reached an agreement with prosecutors to plead guilty to two counts of second-degree sexual assault -- reduced from first-degree sexual assault -- and two counts of third-degree sexual assault.
Gross was also given credit for serving five days in jail. He will have to register as a convicted sexual offender for the rest of his life and complete a sexual offender treatment program as conditions of probation.
The goal of the plea agreement was to avoid having the girl go to trial and testify and yet still obtain a conviction, said Deputy Prosecutor Myron Takemoto. The girl was traumatized by the attack and will require continued therapy and medication, he told the court.
"Her sense of self-worth was destroyed as a result," Takemoto said.
Circuit Judge Marie Milks accepted the plea agreement yesterday despite concerns over the contents of a confidential pre-sentence report, which she called "troubling."
In the report, Gross admitted to what happened that day in his condo and also apologized.
"Even taking Mr. Gross's statements, his conduct was inexcusable," Milks said.
She said she was troubled by letters written by Gross' family members which appeared to suggest he has done nothing wrong and accuses the criminal justice system of treating him unfairly. She questioned how honest he has been with his family.
Gross responded "absolutely" when asked whether his family knows he admitted he is guilty and indicated he has since set them straight.
He told Milks he regrets his conduct and the difficult situation he has put the girl and her family through. "It was my fault," he said.
The girl's mother and older sister were in the courtroom, but did not make a statement.
Takemoto said Gross, who is well-educated, "should have known better." He called Gross' behavior "shameful" and his statements to the probation officer partly blaming the girl for what happened "reprehensible."
As part of the agreement, Gross was ordered to pay $510 to the girl for therapy expenses and $5,000 to an organization that assists victims of sexual abuse.
Defense attorney Jonathan Burge said that although Gross indicated the girl was partly to blame, he will be addressing that as part of his sex offender treatment. Gross recognizes what happened was ultimately his fault since he was the adult, Burge said.
The girl was an acquaintance of Gross' wife and had gone with her to the couple's Honolulu Tower condo that day to do some housework for pay.
Gross returned home and followed the girl into a bedroom where he sexually assaulted her, police said. The girl reported the incident that day.