LIHU‘E — After two years and an extradition order from the Mainland, a man accused of the sexual assault of a teenage boy was sentenced Wednesday. Richard Wayne Rita, 58, of Lihu‘e pleaded guilty to third-degree sexual assault in a
LIHU‘E — After two years and an extradition order from the Mainland, a man accused of the sexual assault of a teenage boy was sentenced Wednesday.
Richard Wayne Rita, 58, of Lihu‘e pleaded guilty to third-degree sexual assault in a change of plea hearing on Nov. 29. The indictment for the crime was produced on Aug. 26, 2010. He was arraigned March 30, 201,1 after his extradition from the Mainland.
On Wednesday, Rita was sentenced by Judge Kathleen Watanabe in 5th Circuit Court. Following the plea agreement, Rita will serve a year in jail with credit for time served and then probation for five years.
Rita was assessed a $1,000 fine. He also must register for the state sex offender registry and submit to required assessments and treatment as directed by the probation office.
Defense attorney Rosa Flores said the pre-sentencing report in the case does not reflect credit for time served since February 2011, when Rita was arrested in Green County, Ind.
The Indiana arrest was on separate charges, the judge was told. A hearing on the issue of credit for time served was scheduled Feb. 29.
Watanabe said that as of Wednesday, Rita had 329 days of credit, and that the issue would be to find out how much of the Indiana time was for the unrelated crime, and how much was to hold Rita for extradition to Kaua‘i.
• Tom LaVenture, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or tlaventure@thegardenisland.com.
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