Hilo man charged in sex assault of mentally disabled woman
A 64-year-old Hilo man has been charged with allegedly sexually assaulting a 32-year-old mentally disabled woman in Puna.
Louis Sardis was charged Saturday with three counts of first-degree sexual assault and two counts of third-degree sexual assault. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Thursday. A judge granted a motion to reduce Sardis’ aggregate bail to $49,000 from $68,000.
Shortly before 7 a.m. Friday, police responded to a report of suspicious activity inside a large van parked on Melekule Street in a residential neighborhood.
According to a preliminary police investigation, a resident walked up to the suspicious van and saw a man later identified as Sardis sexually assaulting the woman.
Maj. Sam Thomas, spokesman of the Hawaii Police Department, said the witness called police.
Sardis is known to the victim.
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Capt. Randall Medeiros of the Hawaii Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division declined to identify the organization or company the van belongs to.