A man accused of 25 counts of sexual assault against a girl who turned 14 during the alleged abuse is in custody at Hawaii Community Correctional Center.
A man accused of 25 counts of sexual assault against a girl who turned 14 during the alleged abuse is in custody at Hawaii Community Correctional Center.
Alexander K.M. Svendsen, 30, Kapaau, was indicted May 10 on the counts by a grand jury and a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was arrested at 2:09 p.m. Tuesday on Saddle Road near the 25 mile marker, according to police. Svendsen appeared before Hilo Circuit Judge Greg Nakamura on Wednesday and pleaded not guilty. Deputy Public Defender Jeff Ng requested that Svendsen be allowed supervised release, which he said was recommended by the Department of Public Safety’s Intake Service Center. Svendsen has a place to live, works with his father and is involved in drug treatment, Ng said. Deputy Prosecutor Shaunda Liu argued Svendsen should be detained on the $210,000 bond set by the warrant. Nakamura said the decision will be up to Kona Circuit Judge Ronald Ibarra, who will be hearing the case.
Svendsen is scheduled to appear in court for a pretrial conference July 7.