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WAILUKU >> A judge sentenced a Wailuku man who sexually assaulted a child for five years to spend 100 years in prison.
The assaults began when the child was 8 years old.
The girl, who is now 16, said she was relieved that William Barrios, 46, received a very long sentence, according to The Maui News (http://is.gd/O9QQ0W ).
During Friday’s sentencing, 2nd Circuit Judge Rhonda Loo described Barrios as a “monster” for the crimes he committed from 2004 to 2009. Barrios was convicted of 146 sex and kidnapping charges.
“You put a child through the most unspeakable, unthinkable things,” Loo told Barrios. “Yes, you will be characterized as a child molester, a sexual predator, because that’s exactly what you are. You are a monster.”
The girl testified during the trial that Barrios forced her into various sexual acts, a few times with her mother also forced to participate, at their Pukalani home. The girl also described an overnight camping trip to Olowalu when Barrios forced her into sexual acts while no other adults were present.
The girl testified that she at first didn’t tell anyone about the assaults because Barrios threatened to kill anyone she told.
“As a child, I was scared to tell anyone about what would happen in my home,” she said in court Friday. “My definition of monster is different from most people.
“When the monster was finally out of my life, I could breathe,” she said.
Deputy Prosecutor Kim Whitworth said that the number of Barrios’ sexual assault convictions was likely “unsurpassed” in the county and possibly the state.
She called Barrios “one of the most diabolical child molesters who has ever set foot on this island.”
Barrios “isolated and groomed a young child and subjected her to countless” sexual acts, Whitworth said. She said Barrios used “physical violence, psychological manipulation and threats.”
“He robbed her of her childhood and damaged the sanctity of the mother-daughter relationship,” Whitworth said.
Barrios declined to speak in court.
Defense attorney Jon Apo said that he advised Barrios not to submit a letter to the court because he planned an appeal. He said Barrios was a hardworking, disciplined Christian who “continues to pray for the victim.”
“Effectively imposing what amounts to a life sentence, while emotionally justifiable, is not a just sentence. This is not about hanging Mr. Barrios out in the public square for the rest of his life for all to see so that others can learn from this lesson,” Apo said.
Barrios’ criminal history includes a September 1995 conviction for indecent exposure, a felony sexual offense in California, Whitworth said. Although he was required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life, Barrios failed to do so when he moved to Hawaii, she said.
“He kept his dangerous history a secret in order to continue his sexual perversions,” she said.
Police began an investigation in March 2010 when the children’s mother reported the sexual assaults.
