Hilo — A 55-year-old Pahoa man pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges he repeatedly sexually assaulted a teenage girl more than two years ago.
Hilo Circuit Judge Greg Nakamura ordered Dason James DeRego to appear for trial at 9 a.m. Aug. 12.
DeRego is charged with 10 counts each of first- and third-degree sexual assault of a girl who was at least 14 but younger than 16 years old at the time of the alleged offenses. She is identified in the indictment by initials only, and it is the Tribune-Herald’s policy to not identify alleged victims of sexual assault unless they choose to go public.
According to the indictment, the assaults took place between Sept. 1, 2016, and Dec. 31, 2016.
During the brief hearing, DeRego replied softly to questions from Nakamura.
Deputy Public Defender Jeff Ng, DeRego’s attorney, asked the judge to consider either granting his client supervised release without bail or to reduce bail, saying DeRego “indicates that he has medical concerns at this time.”
“He’s a disabled veteran that was in the Navy for 11 years,” Ng said. “… Also, in the pretrial bail report, he has a limited criminal history, consisting of two petty misdemeanors.”
Those two convictions are for disorderly conduct.
Deputy Prosecutor Shannon Kagawa conceded DeRego “has a minimal criminal history,” but asked the judge to maintain DeRego’s $120,000 bail “based on the charges … and the victim in this case is a minor.”
Nakamura maintained DeRego’s bail without prejudice, meaning the defense is free to file a written motion requesting supervised release or a bail reduction.
First-degree sexual assault is a Class A felony punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment upon conviction. A conviction for third-degree sexual assault carries a potential five-year prison term.
Prosecutors, however, contend in the indictment that DeRego “is subject to extended terms of imprisonment … for the protection of the public” as an alleged multiple offender who could be sentenced to two or more felonies. That could mean a sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole if DeRego is convicted of multiple first-degree sexual assault charges.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
