Kihei rape is
third of senior on
Valley Isle this summer

WAILUKU » Maui police have reported the third rape of an elderly woman on the island within the last 12 weeks.

An 83-year-old South Maui woman said she was sexually assaulted in her single-family residence along Kenolio Road in Kihei at about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The woman suffered some bruising and was treated and released from Maui Memorial Medical Center, Police Lt. Glenn Cuomo said yesterday.

Cuomo said there is no indication that the assailant was the same man in all three instances, but police detectives have not ruled out that possibility.

He said the man entered the residence through an unlocked window and took items, including cash.

The rape in Kihei happened about 10 miles southeast of two other rapes of elderly women in Kahului.

The first sexual assault occurred at a single-family residence at 3 a.m. on May 30 and involved an 87-year-old woman who was raped in the bedroom of her house within a radius of 1.5 miles from Hina and Wakea Avenues in Kahului.

Cuomo said the man broke a window to enter the house and took her handbag containing cash and other items.

The second rape occurred between 5:30 and 5:45 a.m. on June 14 near Hina and Wakea avenues. A 78-year-old woman was on a walk outside the elderly-assistance housing Hale Mahaolu when a man pulled her into a brush area, police said.

The woman, a resident at Hale Mahaolu, was treated for scratches and bruises and released from Maui Memorial Medical Center.

Cuomo said the rape in Kihei involved a burglary, as did the first sexual assault in Kahului.

The two sexual assaults in Kahului drew several hundred people to a demonstration near Hina and Wakea avenues to show their support for the two victims.

Cuomo said there have been no new developments in the first two sexual assaults, and detectives are continuing to investigate both cases.

He said the man in the sexual assault in Kihei was of slim build, possibly about 6 feet tall and wearing black pants and a gray tank top. Cuomo said detectives planned to conduct further interviews with the victim.

Anyone with information about the sexual assaults is asked to call Maui police at 808-244-6400 or CrimeStoppers at 808-242-6966.

Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers