Sex assault hearing delayed two weeks

LIHUE — The preliminary hearing for a man who police said sexually assaulted two underage girls has been delayed two weeks.

Eirik James Stevens, 49, appeared before Fifth Circuit Court District Judge Trudy Senda Tuesday.

Defense Attorney Mark Zenger said he was having some technical difficulties opening a digital tape, which was provided by the state, of the alleged voluntary statement Stevens gave to police when he was arrested on April 5.

“It’s the most important piece of discovery, at least at this point,” Zenger told the court. “I ran it through four different computers and I can’t pull it down, so I’m going to have to go back to the state and work with them and get another copy.”

Stevens, a former Boys and Girls Club volunteer, is charged with one count of first-degree sexual assault and two counts of third-degree sexual assault for allegedly luring a 7-year-old girl into his apartment with snacks and for allegedly inappropriately touching an 8-year-old girl he knew from the club.

Zenger said that after reviewing some of the preliminary police reports, he may have to declare a conflict due to knowing many of the witnesses within the reports.

He said he would require an additional two weeks to go through the reports to determine if that is the case.

The preliminary hearing has been rescheduled to April 19.

Stevens is at Kauai Community Correctional Center. His bail is set at $250,000. A bail study was ordered on April 8.