WAILUKU — A Maui man convicted of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a woman has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Brandon Silva, 32, was sentenced last week after reaching an agreement with prosecutors where he pleaded no contest to kidnapping and a reduced charge of second-degree sexual assault, The Maui News reported .
Silva had offered to drive the victim to the hospital to find a friend who was in a wreck in April 2016, Deputy Prosecutor Iwalani Gasmen said. The woman had been acquainted with Silva previously, and he drove her to a couple of a hospitals.
On the way toward Kahakuloa, Silva pulled off to the side of the road and threatened the victim with a machete, forcing her to perform sexual acts, Gasmen said.
“Let there be no mistake, this was a very brutal rape,” Gasmen told the court.
As they continued driving, Silva took the victim’s phone and tried to delete his contact information and text messages to her, Gasmen said. He later pulled onto a dirt road and assaulted the woman again. He released her in Paia the next morning, the prosecutor said.
“No one should have to endure such feelings of trauma, fear, anxiety and stress in their lifetime,” Gasmen said. “It is evident that this defendant is dangerous. He is manipulative. He will say whatever is convenient or most beneficial for him at the time.”
Deputy Public Defender Zach Raidmae maintained that the encounter was consensual.
“There’s a small amount of time where anything criminal happens,” Raidmae said. “The machete was never found.”
Silva was also ordered to register as a sex offender.
“I believe the account by the victim in this case,” Judge Richard Bissen said at sentencing. “The defendant is, in the court’s mind, a violent, dangerous predator.”
