A circuit judge has refused to reduce bail for a former state House contender who remains in custody on sexual assault charges.
Chayne Marten, 64, has pleaded not guilty to five counts of first-degree sexual assault, three counts of third-degree sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a minor.
He has been in custody since October in lieu of $650,000 bail.
On Friday, Circuit Judge Richard Bissen denied a request to reduce the bail to $100,000, the Maui News reported.
In arguing for reduction of bail, defense attorney Hayden Aluli said the prosecution should have charged Marten with just one Class A first-degree sexual assault charge, as is sometimes done. Aluli said bail was established by setting $100,000 for each first-degree sexual assault charge and then adding more money for the other four charges.
He also said Marten has never been arrested and has owned property on Maui for 17 years and has three children, factors that he implied tie Marten to the community.
Deputy Prosecutor Annalisa Lee said she considered bringing fewer charges, but because of the seriousness of the allegations, she decided to charge for each offense.
The assaults allegedly happened between Dec. 6, 2007, and Dec. 6, 2010, involving sexual contact with a girl between 7 and 10 years old, prosecutors have charged. The girl is a relative.
Marten ran as a Republican in the 2016 general election when he challenged state Rep. Angus McKelvey (D, West Maui-Maalaea-North Kihei). McKelvey won 4,716 to 1,700.
