KAILUA-KONA — About a dozen Big Island residents gathered Wednesday to draw attention to a sexual assault they say isn’t getting enough attention.
Police reported last month that two minors sexually assaulted a woman at the Old Kona Airport on Sept. 3. Police said they arrested one suspect, a 15-year-old, before turning him over to his parents. As of the time of the release, they were still searching for the second suspect and no new information has been released about the case.
School officials have said they can’t comment on whether the 15-year-old has returned to school. Police haven’t returned calls made to the department.
Several attendees at Wednesday’s wave said they knew the woman assaulted at Old Kona Airport.
Jed Bryant, a 25-year-old resident of Captain Cook, said he used to play music with the woman, calling her a “really sweet girl.”
“I want it to not be silent,” he said Wednesday at the sign waving on Queen Kaahumanu Highway, south of Kealakehe Parkway. “It’s known about but I don’t see anything being done about it.”
Tom Elliott and Peter Willard also said they played music with the woman and said they came out to support her and rally against sexual assault.
“This is something everyone wanted to do,” said Willard.
The two men, who said the victim is “a very talented musician,” said they were upset about the fact that no charges against the suspect who was arrested have been announced and that the suspect was released back into the community with no progress announced regarding the second suspect.
“It’s not just a minor incident,” said Willard. “These are two guys who almost killed her.”
Willard expressed frustration about the current legal process, which he said seems to provide a “loophole” for juvenile offenders, even when they’re suspected of serious crimes.
“The law, for whatever reason, is stuck,” he said.
Willard said the issue is not just about this one particular incident, but should bring attention to the larger issues of safety in the community.
“This is sort of a lightning rod,” he said. “She almost died. She was just walking around.”
“You shouldn’t be in fear of that, but now we are,” he added.
Other residents came out to raise awareness about the state of their community, saying they’ve had it with crime in their area.
“I think every one of them is sick and tired of what’s going on,” said Kona resident Naomi Camacho as she pointed to those attending the rally.
The event, she said, was to bring attention to “everything that’s going on.”
“We’re just tired of the crime,” she said.
Camacho said families don’t want to go out to public parks or beaches out of fear that they’ll be targeted. She said there’s “no way” she’ll take the children in her family to the park.
“Where’s the community safety here?” she asked. “Where’s the safety? There’s none.”
Camacho said she doesn’t blame police about the case. She said they’re doing “an awesome job.”
Instead, she said, the community needs stricter laws.
“I want the council and the mayor to know that the Kona community is sick and tired of hiding behind doors and taking matters into their own hands,” she said.
Malia Rubio said the issues of sexual assault, drugs and bullying are all problems that face Kona.
“It’s real and it’s tragic and it breaks my heart,” she said.
Rubio said her biggest concern with the case was that the suspect was released back to the custody of his parents.
“It seems like that one was let on the loose and that’s scary,” she said.
Rubio added that she’s spoken to her kids about bullying before, but that was before she learned about the assault at Old Kona Airport.
Now, she said, she needs to figure out how to speak to her kids about issues like that as well.
“I’m still looking for the right words to take home and give to my children,” she said.
She likewise encouraged parents to speak to their own kids.
“Bullying’s out there,” she said.
Throughout the sign waving, numerous cyclists training for Ironman passed by attendees. Camacho said she hoped their wave catches their attention too.
“It’s not only (for) the Kona people,” she said. “These foreign people coming in, they need to know what’s going on.”
Bryant also said Ironman is a good time to hold the protest. The incident, he said, shouldn’t be kept quiet, even if it hurts visitor opinion.
“You just have to look beyond tourism, it can’t be swept under the rug.”