2 men indicted in unrelated sex assaults

Two Hawaii island men have been indicted on sex assault charges in separate, unrelated cases.

Chance Letreta is charged with sex assault of a girl under age 14 between 2008 and 2009.

Phil James is charged with kidnapping and sex assault of a woman.

The Hawaii Tribune-Herald reports a Kona grand jury indicted 34-year-old Letreta of Kailua-Kona and 31-year-old James of Ocean View on Aug. 13.

Both are in custody in lieu of $50,000 bail.

Deployment impact study receives $2.7M

The University of Hawaii at Hilo is researching the effects of deployment on military families.

The university of announced Friday the Department of Defense is funding the ‘Ohana Heroes Project with $2.7 million.

Project principal investigator Charmaine Higa-McMillan says the goal is to understand the effects of military deployment on families to develop support programs.

The project is looking for families on Hawaii island and Oahu with at least one child. Families will complete interviews and surveys.