Rapist back in
isles after fleeingJovie Adora, 26, was caught
in Guam after he walked out
of his sentencing hearing
A convicted rapist who left the courthouse before he could be sentenced last month and was later arrested in Guam is back in Hawaii.
Jovie Adora, 26, who sexually assaulted four teenage girls, will be sentenced to 20 years in prison on Sept. 3. He was supposed to be sentenced on June 4, but he left the building as his attorney, Keith Shigetomi, the deputy prosecutor and the judge discussed a request to reschedule the hearing.
Shigetomi told the judge that Adora left to seek medical attention. He said his client agreed to turn himself in the following day. Instead, Adora boarded a plane for the Philippines.
Acting Circuit Judge Faauuga Tootoo issued a $1 million bench warrant for Adora's arrest. Guam police arrested Adora on June 6 when he stepped off a Continental Airlines flight that was making a stopover on its way to Manila.
Police brought Adora back to Honolulu on Friday, and he was back in court yesterday. State deputy sheriffs took him to Oahu Community Correctional Center to await sentencing.
Adora pleaded guilty in March to third-degree sexual assault, second-degree sexual assault and two counts of first-degree sexual assault involving four girls, ages 13 to 17, between June 2000 and October 2001. In May, Adora tried to withdraw his guilty pleas, but Circuit Judge Wilfred Watanabe denied the request.
At the original sentencing hearing, Shigetomi asked Tootoo to reconsider Watanabe's denial. A decision on that request is pending. Meanwhile, Adora's family has retained another attorney to pursue withdrawing the guilty pleas. Jonathan Burge said he expects to take over as Adora's attorney in a few weeks.
Adora had been free on $310,000 bail. The company that posted the bail, Da Kine Bail Bonds, had not yet forfeited the amount to the court. A hearing yesterday on Da Kine's request to cancel the forfeiture was rescheduled to Aug. 14.
