A 45-year-old Hanapepe, Kauai, man was sentenced to 20 years in prison Wednesday for sexually assaulting a relative when she was a teenager.
Kauai Circuit Judge Kathleen Watanabe sentenced Larry Cass Ragasa on charges of two counts of first-degree sexual assault and one count of fourth-degree sexual assault.
The assaults occurred between August 2001 and June 2002 when the victim was age 14 and 15. Also, he subjected the victim to sexual assault in 2010, when she was an adult, according to the Kauai County’s Prosecutor’s Office.
In March, a Kauai Circuit Court jury found Ragasa guilty of the offenses.
In a news release, Prosecutor Justin Kollar said, “This sentence should send a message that our office will do everything we can to protect the victims and survivors of child sexual assault in our community.”
Big Island lawyer chosen for family court
Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald has appointed M. Kanani Laubach to the District Family Court on Hawaii island.
Laubach, who has been in private practice in Hilo since 2011, will fill the vacancy created by the appointment of Melvin Fujino to Circuit Court.
Between 2006 and 2010, Laubach served as a Hawaii County deputy prosecutor. In 2007 she joined the Violent Crime Unit.
From 2003 to 2006, Laubach worked as a deputy prosecutor in Honolulu.
Laubach currently serves as vice president of the Hawaii County Bar Association.