Man, 34, found not guilty in attempted murder, sex assault case

An Oahu Circuit Court jury returned a verdict of not guilty today on all counts of the attempted murder, kidnapping and first-degree sexual assault trial of a 34-year-old Honolulu man.

Michael T. Hirokawa was acquitted of all charges of second-degree attempted murder, kidnapping and three counts of first-degree sexual assault.

Judge Paul Wong accepted the jury’s verdict and thanked them for serving. “You went above and beyond,” he said. “This has been a very long trial.”

The victim, a Korean citizen living in Chicago, was visiting Honolulu in late 2020 and worked as a hostess at Club New Business when she met Hirokawa. He bought her $100 worth of drinks the night of Nov. 20, 2020. She said he tipped her another $100, which he denied. She called him after the bar closed, and they got together at his friend’s office where he was already drinking.

They went to his Capitol Place condo arriving at 12:28 a.m. Nov. 21, 2020, where the alleged sexual assault, the beating of her genitalia, choking and stomping of her head and body occurred.

She managed to escape and was found in the lobby outside an elevator, naked and bleeding profusely, and was later in critical condition due to the extreme loss of blood. Hirokawa was found asleep in his bed, his hands and forearms bloodied.

Hirokawa did not deny he committed the acts since the evidence shows they were the only two in the apartment but said he does not recall any of it and provided evidence that he was drugged and suggested the woman tried to take the nearly $2,400 in cash he had in his pocket.

A private toxicologist for the defense took samples from the wine glasses on the kitchen counter and sent them to a California laboratory, which tested the sample from his glass as positive for LSD, a hallucinogen, and zolpidem (also known as Ambien, a prescription sedative).

Defense lawyer Alen Kaneshiro emphasized to the jury in closing arguments Thursday that their duty was to follow the jury instructions and not make their decision based on sympathy for the victim and her horrific injuries. Rather they needed to return a not-guilty verdict if they had any doubt in their minds.

He said in his closing argument that because of shoddy police work, police failed to take samples from the wine glasses even though drugs had been a consideration by a police evidence specialist who suggested taking samples, the detective and others.

Kaneshiro also pointed out where the woman was not truthful when testifying Hirokawa was unsteady on his feet and had to hold him up. The video showed him walking without her assistance.

Deputy Attorney General Michelle Puu said that the only option Hirokawa had was to use this defense of being drugged since voluntary intoxication is not a defense to a criminal act in the state of Hawaii.

In her closing arguments, Puu said, “This was a heinous sexual assault, and it repeated, repeated, repeated where he almost killed her. This is not a drug-fueled rage.”

During the sexual acts, the woman received a laceration from her genital area to her anus, causing extreme bleeding.