Man sentenced in sex assaults of 2 women, child on Kauai

LIHUE, — A man convicted of sexually assaulting two women and a child on Kauai was sentenced to 35 years in prison.

Jesse Korn, 27, was sentenced Wednesday after he pleaded no contest to kidnapping and three sexual assault charges, The Garden Island reported.

Korn entered three residences at an affordable housing complex in Koloa, attacking a victim inside each unit in December 2017, prosecutors said.

In one of the apartments, he raped a woman whose young child was in the next room. She gave a statement to the court that was read by Second Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Rebecca Like.

“This encounter was worse than any nightmare. I’m traumatized,” the victim wrote. “I will never forget what happened. My life was going good until a stranger came in and devastated everything. I’ll never be the same again. He should be put away as long as possible so he doesn’t hurt any other innocent people.”

The woman wrote that she told her child she was being attacked by the boogeyman, begging her daughter to stay in her room.

Like told the court the victim is now afraid to do things she previously enjoyed because she doesn’t like to be alone. She also gets flashbacks and had to move from that apartment.

Korn’s attorney John Murphy told the court that his client had smoked methamphetamine and an unknown black substance that day. The drug combination caused Korn to have no memory of the assaults, he said.

“Mr. Korn started apologizing and taking responsibility for his actions,” Murphy said.

Korn also apologized for his actions in court, saying that his life is good now that he’s behind bars. He will be required to register as a sex offender.