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STAR-ADVERTISER LIBRARY
This mugshot released by Los Angeles County Sheriffs shows Cecilio Rodriguez, who began serving a one-year jail term today.
Hawaii entertainer Cecilio Rodriguez was released on a $200,000 bond over the weekend after he was arrested last week on several charges of sex crimes against two Los Angeles women when they were children.
Rodriguez, of the group Cecilio & Kapono, pleaded not guilty Wednesday in Compton Municipal Court to charges of sex offenses against two children as long as 15 years ago in Los Angeles, according to court documents. He was on a West Coast tour and had recently played in Redondo Beach.
His preliminary hearing will be set Oct. 13 at his next court appearance in the Compton Court. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office said Rodriguez faces a maximum imprisonment of 10 years if convicted.
Based on their investigation, detectives from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Special Victims Bureau believe there may be more victims, including in Hawaii, authorities said today.
Rodriguez, 66, was arrested Tuesday and booked at the Carson, Calif., police station for allegedly committing sex crimes against two girls, who were both under age 14 at the time. The two-count felony complaint against Rodriguez said one sex crime occurred with an underage girl between Nov. 6, 1997, and Nov. 5, 1999. The second occurred with another girl between May 6, 1996, and May 5, 1998, according to the complaint. Rodriguez posted bail and was released on Saturday.
The women are family friends with the Hawaiian entertainer. One of the victims told Los Angeles County Sheriff’s detectives the abuse occurred in Carson, Calif. The girls were 5 and 8 years old at the time, Carson police said.
Carson police said the allegations of sexual abuse were not revealed until earlier this year when the father of one of the women asked her to deliver a package to the Rodriguez’s home in Hawaii. The victim then told her father of the abuse by Rodriguez.
The victim reported the crime to Carson Sheriff’s Station deputies on June 23, which began an extensive investigation.
The case was presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office on Sept, 27, and two counts of the charge of lewd acts upon a child were filed.
Under California law, charges may be filed for felony sex crimes committed against victims younger than 18 who come forward before their 28th birthday.
Rodriguez was convicted of attempted sexual assault 17 years ago in Hawaii County. He pleaded no contest to attempted sexual assault in the second degree in 1994 and was sentenced to one year in jail, 500 hours of community service and mandatory participation in a sex-offender treatment program.
As part of his 1994 deferred acceptance plea, which would erase the conviction from his record if he stayed out of trouble for 10 years, he was ordered to avoid employment where he would be with children under 14 without the supervision of an approved adult. He also was prohibited from making contact with any minor child without the permission of his probation officer, according to Hawaii court records.
He was on probation from the Hawaii island case when the California assaults allegedly occurred.
On Aug. 31, Rodriguez was found guilty of operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant. He was sentenced to 240 hours of community service and a $500 fine.
Rodriguez and fellow Hawaii entertainer Henry Kapono formed Cecilio & Kapono in 1973.
