Woman files complaint alleging sexual assault by Honolulu divorce lawyer

A Waikiki couple has filed a civil complaint in Circuit Court against a Honolulu lawyer alleging he sexually assaulted the wife in August and September 2019 after he was retained as the wife’s divorce lawyer.

Miyoko Shitara filed a police report Feb. 7, 2020, alleging sexual assault, including rape, but had not heard back from police or the prosecutor’s office until the Honolulu Star-Advertiser inquired about the case.

The 57-year-old woman and her husband, Kazuhiko Shitara, are suing Gary G. Singh, aka G. Gary Singh, a criminal defense, immigration and family law attorney, for actions allegedly committed two years ago.

The lawsuit was filed Aug. 1, just before the statute of limitations expired.

The Shitaras’ lawyer, Andrew Stewart, said Miyoko Shitara did not immediately file a police report because “she was intimidated and scared to report it to anybody.”

Honolulu Police Department spokeswoman Michelle Yu said Aug. 18 that the case is still ongoing with HPD.

When asked how long it normally takes for such an investigation since the report was made 1-1/2 years ago, she said, “It can take a while. The circumstances for each case vary widely.”

That same day, an HPD detective emailed Stewart regarding his client’s sexual assault report.

Singh’s attorney, Carl Osaki, said, “The allegations of assault and conversion that are made against Mr. Singh are not true. Mr. Singh will defend against these false allegations.”

The complaint alleges Singh told Shitara to meet him Aug. 18, 2019, at a bar where he had drinks, then drove her to a vacant Makiki condo, where he forcefully groped her and tried to force her to kiss him.

She told him to stop but he did not, the complaint says, and laughed, saying, “You are hard up for a job and money, right? I could hire you at my office, and you could live out of my condo.”

Singh filed a divorce petition Aug. 19, 2019, on her behalf.

On Sept. 1, 2019, he went to the couple’s Waikiki condo, purportedly to see it before appraisal for divorce proceedings.

There he allegedly restrained her and raped her twice.

Singh allegedly took some of the husband’s possessions, stored them at his home and told Shitara it was to negotiate the divorce and that he would later return it.

The couple reconciled, and when Shitara asked for the items back, Singh demanded $15,000 in remaining attorney’s fees.

She paid it, but Singh allegedly failed to return the items, until an attorney was used to retrieve the property, Stewart said.

The complaint alleges this amounts to conversion — wrongfully depriving someone of their property without justification or authorization.

Singh speaks Japanese and represents a lot of Japanese women filing for divorce, Stewart said. “I hope it’s an isolated incident,” he said. “If there are other victims, they should come forward.”