HILO — A former driver for The Arc of Hilo who sexually assaulted a physically and mentally disabled woman last year in a van owned by the nonprofit organization was sentenced Wednesday to 20 years in prison.
Hilo Circuit Judge Greg Nakamura also told Louis Sardis he would have to register as a sex offender. Sardis, a 65-year-old Hilo man, pleaded no contest Oct. 25 to two counts of first-degree sexual assault, a Class A felony, for the attack on the 32-year-old woman, an Arc client.
Sardis picked up the victim June 30 at her Pahoa home, but instead of delivering her to The Arc, he drove to Orchidland Estates subdivision, where he raped the victim. Two witnesses told police they saw Sardis “on top of” the woman, “moving in an up and down motion behind the driver’s seat.”
The woman’s sister told the judge Sardis’ actions “impacted my family a lot.”
“My mom and dad and I … have trouble sleeping at night. My mom has basically gone into a state of depression. She’s always down; she’s always crying,” the victim’s sister said. “I feel the sentence the defendant is getting is, basically, letting him off easy, as opposed to what my family is going through. I just want people to know it’s not fair for my family.”
The Tribune-Herald is not identifying the victim’s sister to protect the victim’s identity.
Deputy Prosecutor Kimberly Angay told Nakamura the victim has continued to suffer physically and mentally since the assault.
“She’s gone down one clothing size, and her family notices that she still has a decrease in appetite,” Angay said. “They also noticed the frequency of her seizures have increased, from one to two every three months to one to two seizures every month. And they are now longer. Before, they were less than one minute, and now they last from one to two minutes.
“… Although she cannot talk about the defendant’s crime’s impact on her, it’s evident in these physical responses that these are signs from her body that something traumatic has occurred.”
Sardis initially confessed to the attack, according to court documents, but has since changed his story, Angay said.
“Essentially, the victim’s DNA profile was found on the defendant’s underwear,” the prosecutor said. “This contradicts his statements in the (pre-sentencing report) denying penetration occurred. He’s made conflicting statements from the time he first spoke with the police to his statements in the (report).”
Sardis, who is originally from Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia, addressed the court and said he’s “so sorry for what happened.” He told Nakamura he understands that incarcerating him in Hawaii “would cost the citizens lots of dollars.”
“I don’t want to hurt the people of Hawaii. Therefore, Your Honor, I ask that you consider seriously … to serve my time in my home country, Micronesia,” Sardis said.
The victim’s parents filed suit in September against Sardis and The Arc of Hilo, seeking unspecified monetary damages and changes made in the way the nonprofit organization — which has a stated mission “to improve the quality of life for people with developmental and/or other disabilities on Hawaii Island through recreational, vocational and life skills training” — transports and supervises clients.
The Arc of Hilo filed a motion in November seeking dismissal of the civil complaint. A hearing on the motion is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Feb. 23 before Hilo Circuit Judge Henry Nakamoto.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.