A 42-year-old Puna man faces a felony sex assault charge for allegedly assaulting a female minor on Sunday.
At about 4:10 a.m. Sunday, police responded to a location in Pahoa after receiving a report of an assault on a female minor, the Hawaii Police Department said. Officers arrested 42-year-old Wendell Reed Santiago of Pahoa. He was taken to the Hilo police cellblock while detectives from the Area I Juvenile Aid Section continued the investigation.
Monday evening, detectives charged him with first-degree sexual assault, a class A felony, two misdemeanor charges of promoting intoxicating liquor to a person under the age of 21 and one misdemeanor charge of abuse of a family household member, according to police.
Police said his bail was set at $54,000. He remained at the cellblock pending his initial court appearance scheduled for Wednesday.
Police ask anyone with information on this case to call the department’s nonemergency line at 935-3311 or contact Detective Vernon Ferreira at 961-2279 or Vernon.Ferreira@hawaiicounty.gov.
Those who prefer to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at 961-8300 and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000. All Crime Stoppers information is kept confidential.