2 sex assaults
alarm quiet Manoa

Police ask for help identifying
the men who raped a
college student Monday

An 18-year-old community college student said she was kidnapped and raped by several men Monday night while walking back to her off-campus dormitory in Manoa, the second sexual assault in Manoa in less than a week.

The victim -- a neighbor island resident who began her first semester at Kapiolani Community College last fall -- said she was walking back to her dormitory about 9 p.m. after having dinner at Volcano Joe's, 1810 University Ave.

When she got to Sea View Avenue, police said, she passed a group of five men who allegedly forced her into their parked vehicle, then drove to a park where several of the suspects sexually assaulted her. After the assault, the suspects dropped the victim off near a University of Hawaii-Manoa campus dormitory and then fled.

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CRIMESTOPPERS CrimeStoppers and the Honolulu Police Department want the public's assistance in identifying the men who kidnapped and sexually assaulted an 18-year-old woman on Monday. Above are police sketches of two of the suspects.

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In the other rape case March 23, a woman had just started her car at the Manoa Innovation Center on Woodlawn Drive when a man reached through an open window, unlocked her front passenger door and kidnapped her. The attacker made her perform a sexual act on him and withdraw money from an automated teller machine at knifepoint.

Shannon K. Kalahiki, 24, was charged Saturday with kidnapping, first-degree sexual assault and robbery.

The five suspects in Monday's assault are described as men in their early 20s wearing hats. Police made available yesterday composite sketches of two of the five suspects. The suspect vehicle was described as a dark four-door vehicle.

The victim was taken to the sex-abuse treatment center at the Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children.

News of Monday's rape alarmed some students and others who frequent the area.

Nadiera Sukhraj, 27, a first-year UH graduate student, was walking to her car after dark last night. She has classes and works late at night on the Manoa campus, and parks off campus in the area. "The next time, I'll probably have someone walk with me," she said.

Faryn Watanabe, 16, who takes hula lessons at the Atherton YMCA at Sea View and University avenues, was "pretty worried" last night.

She got the news about the incident when her father drove up last night and told her to stay put after class while waiting for her ride, and to watch her surroundings. He left her a cell phone.

Upon learning some of the details of the incident, Les Iczkovitz, co-owner of Volcano Joe's, said: "That's terrible. That's horrible."

Iczkovitz has tried to make the area safer by putting up lights in the parking lot. He said many of his customers are students who live in the neighborhood and walk to the restaurant. He would like to help by posting the suspects' composites at the restaurant.

Police are asking for the public's help in locating the suspects. Anyone with information is urged to call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300 or *CRIME on a cell phone.

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Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers