A 36-year-old man accused of the knifepoint rape of two teens last month pleaded not guilty Wednesday to 27 charges stemming from the alleged incident.
Hilo Circuit Judge Greg Nakamura ordered Oran Charles Kita to appear for trial at 9 a.m. June 20.
Kita faces 15 counts of first-degree sexual assault, seven counts of third-degree sexual assault, two counts each of first-degree terroristic threatening and kidnapping and a single count of marijuana possession.
He’s in custody at Hawaii Community Correctional Center on $936,000 bail.
Kita was indicted Jan. 20 by a Hilo grand jury. Prosecutors are seeking an extended term of imprisonment — in this case, life with the possibility of parole, since Kita is charged with numerous Class A felonies that normally carry a maximum 20-year prison term upon conviction.
The indictment states an “extended term of imprisonment is necessary for the protection of the public.”
A 19-year-old woman and her friend, a 17-year-old girl, told police they were hiking near Piihonua Bridge above Hilo town the afternoon of Dec. 22 when a local man approached them and said there was a waterfall in the area, according to documents.
Both reportedly told police the man led them to a remote area, where he brandished a knife, told them to take off their clothes, tied their hands behind their backs and forced both to perform various sex acts with him.
Kita was arrested early the next afternoon near Piihonua Bridge. Both teens picked him from a photographic lineup, police said.
In an unrelated case, Kita also is scheduled for trial April 11 before Hilo Circuit Judge Glenn Hara on charges including first-degree commercial promotion of marijuana.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
