HILO — A Hilo grand jury has indicted a 30-year-old Pahoa man with numerous sex assault charges and other offenses for an alleged incident involving a 14-year-old girl on Oct. 3 in Hilo.
The 13-count indictment returned Wednesday charges Patrick Noah Torres with two counts each of first-degree sexual assault, second-degree custodial interference and providing liquor to a minor, plus seven counts of third-degree sexual assault.
According to police, the girl and a boy were walking to school in the heavy rain that morning and had stopped to seek shelter near a store in Puna. Police say the minors were offered a ride to school by a man in a black pickup truck, later identified as Torres. But instead of driving them to school, Torres allegedly made several stops in both Puna and the South Hilo districts, where he reportedly sexually assaulted the girl, who was not identified in documents because she is a minor.
Torres was arrested, charged and posted $35,500 bail.
According to court records, he was scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Nov. 23 in Hilo District Court, but the indictment moves his case to Hilo Circuit Court for arraignment.
First-degree sexual assault is a Class A felony punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment, third-degree sexual assault is a Class C felony punishable by up to five years imprisonment, second-degree custodial interference is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail, and providing liquor to a minor is a petty misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail.
A check of court records turned up no previous criminal convictions for Torres.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.