An appeals court vacated a guilty judgment in the case of a South Kona man charged with unlawful imprisonment of a minor.
Alexander Aquino was sentenced in July, 2022, to up to five years behind bars after being found guilty of keeping a minor under the age of 16 chained to a floor.
Aquino was found guilty of first-degree unlawful imprisonment following a bench trial before Kona Circuit Court Judge Wendy DeWeese.
Aquino filed an appeal, and on Oct. 6, the appellate court concluded the conviction for unlawful imprisonment was not supported by sufficient evidence, therefore vacating the judgment.
The dismissal of the case by the Intermediate Court of appeals is with prejudice, meaning prosecutors can’t refile the charge.
The case stemmed from events that allegedly occurred between Aug. 1, 2020, and Aug. 21, 2021.
During the two-day bench trial, the victim described being confined to a lanai, only allowed into the main house when having to use the bathroom. The minor also testified to being chained, around the neck, with a 20-inch chain to the floor at night with only a towel and blanket for a bed for over a year.
Further testimony alleged that sometime in 2020, while not chained up, the victim tried to escape from the lanai, which is 17 feet from the ground. The minor allegedly lost footing and fell, subsequently suffering a compression fracture to the spine. Aquino, the child’s step father and his wife, the child’s mother, allegedly failed to provide medical attention for the youth, and after about a month, continued the routine of the chain around the neck.
In August 2021, the youth testified to being able to scale the lanai and then hitchhiking to the Kailua-Kona Ross, where a good Samaritan intervened and was able to seek help.
The court said the information complaint appeared to indicate that the minor’s mother consented to Aquino’s restraint of the child.
Aquino’s wife Amy pleaded no contest to the charge of first-degree unlawful imprisonment. She was sentenced by DeWeese to four years probation and 48 days with credit of eight days served.
DeWeese ordered Amy Aquino to serve the jail sentence in 10-day intervals every year until 2025.
