HomeMy WebLinkAboutNR113017UnregisteredsexoffenderconvictionsaffirmedbyAppealsCourt
C OU NT Y O F KAU A‘I
BERNARD P. CARVALHO JR.
Mayor
WALLACE G. REZENTES JR.
Managing Director
OFFICE OF THE PROSECUTING ATTORNEY
News Release
For Immediate Release: November 30, 2017
JUSTIN KOLLAR, PROSECUTING ATTORNEY
Tel (808) 241-1888
Fax (808) 241-1758
Unregistered sex offender convictions affirmed by Appeals Court
LĪHU‘E – Prosecuting Attorney Justin F. Kollar announced that the Hawai‘i Intermediate
Court of Appeals filed an order today affirming the convictions of Rogelio Lahip Ganotisi on three
counts of Failure to Comply With Covered Sex Offender Registration, all class C felonies.
Ganotisi, 69, formerly of Līhu‘e, was convicted following a jury trial in September 2015, in
which testimony and evidence showed that Ganotisi had never registered as a sex offender
following his convictions for Sexual Assault in the First Degree and Kidnapping in the early
1990s. Ganotisi was sentenced in December 2015, to serve concurrent open five-year terms of
imprisonment by Fifth Circuit Chief Judge Randal G.B. Valenciano.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Tracy J. Murakami litigated the appeal on behalf of the
State of Hawai‘i, and Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Rebecca Like litigated the jury trial.
“We are pleased that the appellate court correctly recognized that the trial court
committed no errors in giving the defendant the fair trial he was entitled to,” stated Kollar.
“Although nothing we do can ever undo the crimes this sexual predator committed, we are
satisfied that he will remain in prison for an extended period of time.”
###