Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Monday, April 29, 2024 81° Today's Paper


Hawaii News

Man in essay sentenced to jail for sexual assault

WAILUKU >> A high school senior’s essay about being sexually assaulted has landed her alleged 34-year-old attacker in jail four years after the incident on Maui took place.

Thomas Davidson was sentenced to 90 days in jail Wednesday after pleading no contest to a second-degree assault charge. Several other charges against him, including kidnapping, sexual assault and terroristic threatening, were dropped as part of his plea deal, the Maui News reported Thursday.

Davidson is accused of assaulting the then-15-year-old victim in 2012 in a parking lot and sending her nude pictures of himself after the incident.

Deputy Prosecutor Kim Whitworth said the victim, now 18, detailed the incident in a school essay, which teachers reported to police.

“It was something very private, something she thought would never be brought to the authorities,” Whitworth said. “She participated in the grand-jury process, as painful as it was … and then started her life on another island and went to college. She did not want to return for a trial and did not want to endure that.”

Davidson maintained his innocence in court Wednesday, saying he’s “a good person” and has “done nothing but good things.”

“I didn’t do what’s being accused of me, and that’s the God’s honest truth,” Davidson said.

His attorney, Philip Lowenthal, had argued for a sentence deferral, saying his client works for the Salvation Army in his spare time and is the only person in his family with a college education.

Judge Rhonda Loo, however, denied the request and handed down the jail time. She also ordered him to serve five years of probation, undergo a psychosexual evaluation and complete sex offender treatment.

3 responses to “Man in essay sentenced to jail for sexual assault”

  1. Mr. Luke says:

    “alleged” – The SA really loves that word. He was convicted! Nothing “alleged” about it.

  2. gmejk says:

    He raped a 15 year old and then has the nerve to proclaim himself a “good person” and not to sentence him to prison because he’s the only college graduate in his family. Obviously he hasn’t taken responsibility for his actions and should have received a harsher sentence than 90 days and probation.

  3. Mike174 says:

    90 Days? Thats bs! Oooh, he is a college grad who works for salvation army? So what? Really? This guy is not only a rapist but a child rapist! This guy needs to Pay for his crime. How about some restitution? And another 20 years…?

Leave a Reply