Girl’s rapist
faces 285 years

The 12-year-old victim gave birth
after years of sexual abuse
from her mom's boyfriend

A 44-year-old Makaha man who impregnated the 12-year-old daughter of his then-girlfriend pleaded guilty yesterday to sexually assaulting the girl repeatedly, starting when she was in second grade.

Peter Vierra entered his pleas yesterday before Circuit Judge Dexter Del Rosario to 12 counts of first-degree assault and nine counts of third-degree sexual assault of the girl who gave birth to a baby boy in October.

He faces a maximum of 20 years on each of the first-degree sexual assaults and five years on the third-degree sexual assaults -- a total of 285 years. He also faces a mandatory minimum of six years and eight months as a repeat offender.

It's also possible that each of the terms can be extended to life with parole from 20 years for the Class A felonies and 10 years from five years for the Class C felonies.

Vierra was on probation for first-degree theft when he began assaulting the girl who was 6 at the time, said Deputy Prosecutor Lori Wada, who plans to ask for the maximum 285 years.

The assaults began as fondling, then progressed to intercourse, she said.

The crime was particularly disturbing because it violated the trust the girl had for her mother's boyfriend, who also was a father figure, Wada said.

The assaults were reported to police last September after family members realized she was pregnant. By then, the pregnancy was in its seventh month.

She was evasive when questioned by police but when interviewed at the Children's Justice Center, she revealed that her mother's boyfriend was responsible.

DNA results show with 99.9 percent certainty that Vierra is the father of the baby, Wada said.

According to the girl, she was in the second grade when Vierra first molested her and made her perform sexual acts on him. The assaults occurred at least once a week and continued through her sixth-grade year, which is when she was first subjected to sexual intercourse.

The assaults continued even after she became pregnant. She said she never told anyone because Vierra told her, "they would get into trouble," according to prosecutors.

The girl's mother said yesterday she was glad that her former boyfriend finally took responsibility for what he did and that her daughter would not have to go through a trial.

"She's taking it one day at a time -- as well as myself, too," she said. "I trusted this man and he went and did this to my daughter."

The baby is doing well and is being cared for by the girl's aunt because the victim is in no position to care for the infant.

Vierra will be sentenced Aug. 3. His public defender William Bento declined comment.