KAILUA-KONA — Defense counsel for a well-known Hawaiian musician accused of sexual assault and kidnapping filed a motion for acquittal.
The proposed acquittal and order of conditional release in the case involving Keoki Kahumoku will be heard this afternoon before Kona Circuit Judge Robert D.S. Kim. Kahumoku, who is on supervised release, faces two counts of first-degree sexual assault and two counts of kidnapping.
Last week, Deputy Public Defender Wendy DeWeese filed the motion and submitted stipulated facts for a bench trial.
“The defendant does not contest the factual allegations in the indictment as to the above charges,” the court filing states.
However, the filing goes on to indicate Kahumoku does not admit to having the requisite state of mind for committing the alleged offenses, the capacity at the time of the offenses to know right from wrong, nor the capacity at the time of the alleged offenses to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law.
According to court documents, three doctors examined Kahumoku. In their opinion, the Hilo man suffers from bipolar disorder with periods of depression and mania and also has a history of substance abuse.
Dr. Welli Weiss was one of the doctors who reviewed Kahumoku. In her letter to the court, she notes that at the time of the alleged offenses, Kahumoku was not medicated and experiencing symptoms of mania.
Weiss also concluded the defendant was “acutely mentally ill” at the time of the alleged offenses and that the symptoms of his illness were exacerbated by his alcohol and drug use.
Yet, Weiss concluded Kahumoku was penally responsible, apparently based on the complainant’s version of events.
Charges stem from incidents that occurred May 6 and 7 in 2015 in the Ka‘u District. The victim identified Kahumoku as a family friend.
On the first day of the reported assault, she states, Kahumoku came to her residence at about 8:30 a.m. and began banging on the door, repeating her name.
The victim statement indicates she saw Kahumoku acting strange and scratching himself in the facial area with his hands. She did let him in the house.
Once inside, the suspect pulled the victim into her bedroom, where the alleged assault occurred.
According to the victim’s statement, Kahumoku returned the next day and assaulted her again.
Email Tiffany DeMasters at tdemasters@westhawaiitoday.com.
