Bryson Silva, 22-year-old, of South Kaua‘i, has been acquitted of first-degree sexual assault for allegedly attacking a 16-year-old teenage girl on the beach in front of the Radisson Hotel last August. In handing down the decision Wednesday, jurors in the
Bryson Silva, 22-year-old, of South Kaua‘i, has been acquitted of first-degree sexual assault for allegedly attacking a 16-year-old teenage girl on the beach in front of the Radisson Hotel last August.
In handing down the decision Wednesday, jurors in the 5th Circuit Court case said the victim, who was visiting Kaua‘i with family members from Broomfield, Colo., and Silva had consensual sex on the evening of Aug. 4.
Jurors also said the victim had given contradictory statements to authorities.
According to court testimony, Silva was working as a security guard at the Radisson Hotel when he met the girl on the evening of Aug. 4.
During the court trial, which began Tuesday and ended Wednesday, the defendant said he met the girl by the pool at 7 p.m. and suggested they get together later that evening.
According to Deputy Public Defender James Itamura, Silva said the girl told him that she was 18 years old and that she was legally old enough to have consensual sex.
Silva said he and the girl met at 9 p.m. and they walked along the beach, and at some point became amorous. According to his testimony, Silva said he left her at the beach to drop off keys and to clock out in another part of the hotel.
In all, he was away from the girl for 8 minutes and 45 seconds, according to court testimony.
Silva said he then returned to the beach where he had consensual sex with the girl.
In describing what happened that night, the girl said she was initially intimate with Silva to a point, but she said she tried to push him away.
Itamura had argued that if she had been truly afraid for her safety, she would have run away from the beach after Silva left to perform hotel duties.
She had testified the defendant had proposed picking her up and carrying her to her hotel room.
She also said he did pick her up over his shoulder, took her to another part of the Radisson beachfront, threw her on the sand and forced her to have sex with him.
Itamura said the victim gave six separate statements, to a friend, Kaua‘i police detectives and a nurse examiner from her home town about what had happened that night.
According to the court testimony, the girl didn’t report she was sexually assaulted until she and her family had returned home.
Not comfortable telling her mother initially, the girl confided, among others, with the mother of a friend.
Her story was relayed to authorities in her home town, and they subsequently contacted the Kaua‘i Police Department, which launched its own investigation.
Silva was arrested by KPD in January of this year, was jailed for about a month and posted a $30,000 bail.
Silva was initially charged with sexual assault in the first degree, sexual assault in the second degree and sexual assault in the third degree.
Two charges were subsequently dropped before the start of Silva’s trial.
Prosecuting the case were Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jennifer Winn and Kaua‘i County Prosecutor Craig De Costa, as co-counsel.
The Silva case was the last jury trial Itamura handled. Following 20 years with the Public Defender’s Office, Itamura will step down from his job and will join the Kaua‘i County Attorney’s office, handling civil matters.
- Lester Chang, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) and lchang@pulitzer.net.
