Opinion ID: 870427
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Complainant

Text: Complainant recounted that she moved to South Dakota when she was eleven to live with sister and Petitioner. Her first sexual encounters with Petitioner occurred approximately four months after she moved to the mainland to live with Petitioner and sister. Initially Petitioner was the person who looked after her, picking her up from school and staying with her until sister came home. Complainant's testimony indicated that she and Petitioner began showering together, to which she acquiesced after he told her that sister said it was okay. When asked if complainant actually believed that sister had approved of her showering naked with Petitioner, she stated that she did and that she trusted him when he told her that. Complainant said that while in the shower he asked her to touch his penis, and eventually inserted it into her vagina. According to complainant, Petitioner asked her if the penetration hurt, to which she responded that it had not hurt, despite asserting at trial that it did. When asked why she told Petitioner that it did not, complainant explained, I was afraid if I told him the wrong answer, I guess. When asked if at the time she thought Petitioner's actions were similar to previous sexual abuse she experienced from her uncle, she answered, Yes and no, and explained as follows: Yes because he was touching me, and it reminded me of what my uncle did. ... And no because I was thinking it was okay. Still, it was in my mind that it was okay because he told me it was okay. ... And I was still thinking about how[, according to Petitioner,] my sister was saying it was okay. Complainant stated that, at that time, she felt like she loved [Petitioner] as a brother[,] but that there was something wrong about the relationship. According to complainant, Petitioner told her that, if she told anyone about their relationship, he would go to jail.
Count 1 covered the time period in which complainant, sister, and Petitioner moved back to Hawai'i and lived in complainant's parent's house, also known as the Kamani Trees house. Complainant testified that at the time she had a close [friendship with Petitioner. She stated, I told him everything. [H]e [b]ought me stuff. If anytime there was an argument, like an argument between me and my sister or something, it seems like he stuck up for me. Or even when we got back to my parents, my parents  all of us, we would argue about something or just have a disagreement, and he was always sticking up for me, like he was there for me. (Emphasis added.) While staying in that house, complainant was sleeping in the same bed as sister and Petitioner and she recounted that her first sexual encounter with Petitioner in Hawai'i occurred while she was sleeping with Petitioner and sister. Complainant testified that she had sexual relations with Petitioner approximately three to five times per month in either the bedroom or the bathroom. She further related that any time she would have sexual intercourse with Petitioner, complainant would also lick or suck on Petitioner's penis to get it wet with [her] saliva. Count 2 related to the period of time when complainant lived with sister and Petitioner at the Aloha Kona house. At that time, complainant lived in a curtained off area in the living room. She testified that Petitioner had sex with her there on more than one occasion[.] Complainant reported that Petitioner would come into her curtained off area at night and ask if she wanted to have sex. She testified that Petitioner would also come into the area early in the morning before he left for work to have her braid his hair. According to complainant, during those times, he would talk to her, telling her [h]ow much he loved [her]. What [sister] was doing, what they argued about, if they did. What  how he [did not] like [complainant's] parents, because sometimes [they] would bug [her] to go to school and [she] wouldn't. Complainant indicated Petitioner told her that her parents [were] trying to take [her] away from him[,] and that she believed him. She further recounted that she had sexual intercourse with Petitioner approximately once or twice a week, sometimes in complainant's area and sometimes in Petitioner's room. Complainant explained that at other times Petitioner would take her in the car to some other place to have sex with her. Count 3 covered the period of time when complainant, sister, and Petitioner were living at the Pumehana house, again with complainant living in a curtained area. Petitioner's practice of driving complainant to other places to have sexual intercourse continued while they were living there, but the frequency of their sexual encounters had decreased. Complainant also testified that at that time, her relationship with sister deteriorated because they were fighting for attention from [Petitioner]. Also, [sister] had a feeling of something [sic] was going between [complainant and Petitioner]. According to Complainant, she and sister rarely spoke to one another, and Petitioner was telling complainant that sister did not want her to be with Petitioner. At trial, complainant indicated that she began to call Petitioner [h]igna[,] the Lakota Indian name for husband. Petitioner also told her that the men in the Lakota culture typically had two wives who were sisters. When she tried to distance herself from him, complainant said she found it difficult because [i]t still felt like [Petitioner] was in control of [her], like he was [her] dad or [her] brother[,] ... an older person who was taking care of [her.]