WAILUKU - A Wailuku man was being held without bail Thursday after he was found guilty of more than 100 counts of sexually assaulting and kidnapping a girl who testified he repeatedly forced her into sexual acts during a five-year period.
After deliberating for about a day and a half, a 2nd Circuit Court jury returned verdicts Thursday afternoon in the trial of William Barrios, 46.
The jury found Barrios guilty of 72 counts of first-degree sexual assault, 72 counts of third-degree sexual assault and two counts of kidnapping for acts that occurred from 2004 to 2009, said Deputy Prosecutor Kim Whitworth.
Charged with a total of 181 counts, Barrios was found not guilty of other charges of attempted first-degree sexual assault, first-degree sexual assault, kidnapping and third-degree sexual assault.
During the trial that began with testimony Oct. 2, the girl said Barrios forced her into sexual acts, a few times with her mother, in a bedroom of their Pukalani home and also on an overnight camping trip to Olowalu when no other adults were present. The girl was 8 years old when the sexual assaults began.
Her younger brother also testified that Barrios forced him into sexual acts, also starting when he was 8. The jury returned not-guilty verdicts on counts involving the boy.
The girl testified that at first she didn't tell anyone about the sexual assaults because Barrios threatened to kill anyone she told, and she was scared.
A police investigation began when the children's mother reported the sexual assaults in March 2010 when Barrios was off-island, according to testimony in the trial.
While Barrios didn't testify, his attorney Jon Apo argued against the credibility of the witnesses and said there was no physical evidence to support their accounts.
Barrios had been held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Maui Community Correctional Center.
But after the verdicts were read, Deputy Prosecutor Carson Tani asked that Barrios be held on no-bail status.
Apo said Barrios hadn't been able to afford the bail already set.
Second Circuit Judge Rhonda Loo ordered that Barrios be held on no-bail status based on the verdict and on the number of counts of which he was convicted.
"The prosecutor's office is very appreciative of the tremendous jury service with six weeks of hard work, with a difficult case and difficult subject matter," Whitworth said after the verdicts. "We're very grateful for the jurors' service and their diligence in listening to all the evidence and deliberating carefully."
Whitworth and Tani stepped in midtrial to handle the prosecution after emergency circumstances prevented the original two deputy prosecutors from continuing.
Whitworth also credited the work of support staff of the prosecutor's office "and the attorneys who came together as an office to truly represent the people of Maui."
Barrios is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 1. The most serious charges, of first-degree sexual assault, carry a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
In Hawaii, Barrios has a prior conviction for first-degree terroristic threatening.
* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.
* This article includes a correction from the original published on Friday, Nov. 16, 2012. The number of third-degree sexual assault convictions was incorrect. The Maui News apologizes for the error.
