Hawai‘i Island police have arrested and charged 38-year-old Adonis Benjamin Imaikalani Higa with sexual assault and an array of domestic violence related offenses following an incident reported on Sunday evening, March 3, 2024, in Pāhoa.
Shortly before 8:00 p.m., Puna patrol officers responded to a residence on Nanawale Boulevard. Upon arrival, officers determined the incident started after a 15-year-old female resident of the household reported to her mother that Higa touched her in a sexual manner and later recorded the actions of Higa with her cellphone, including sexual acts he stated he wanted to do with her. When Higa was confronted by the girl’s mother, he struck both the mother and daughter, in the presence of another child, and threatened all members of the household while retrieving a rifle from a closet. Higa grabbed the cellphone from the 15-year-old, smashed it, and then left the residence with the cellphone.
Higa left the residence prior to police arrival; however, he turned himself in to police at the Pāhoa Police Station on Tuesday morning, March 5.
On Wednesday afternoon, March 6, after conferring with the County Prosecutor’s Office, detectives from the Area I Juvenile Aid Section charged Higa with the following offenses:
- Third-degree sex assault
- First-degree terroristic threatening
- Abuse family household member (in the presence of a minor)
- Possession of a firearm prohibited
- Mandatory registration of a firearm
- Abuse family household member against a spouse/relationship
- Abuse family household member against family and children
- Third-degree theft
- Fourth-degree criminal property damage
His bail was set at $97,000.
Higa’s initial court appearance is scheduled for Thursday afternoon, March 7, 2024, in Hilo District Court.
