adminHONOLULU – A Honolulu man convicted of sexually assaulting three women begged a judge to sentence him to death after being handed 40 years for the attacks. “I know how serious the crimes I committed and I believe I deserve the death sentence,” Asofitu Fio requested in Honolulu court.
“If it can be done, I don’t want to live anymore. I don’t deserve life.”
Fio, who was 30 at the time of his arrest, was convicted of sexually assaulting three women in the Honolulu area in May 2013 before being caught the following December.
“It’s not my decision to make,” Maria Kashem, one of the women attacked by Fio, told KITV after witnessing his courtroom plea. Kashem had previously publicly forgiven Fio for the attack.
“I don’t know what he deserves, but I wish him the best in his recovery.”
Although Fio promptly confessed and offered little defence, his initial detainment came after an extensive manhunt involving “more than 60 officers and over 1,000 staffing hours.”
“Officers from patrol, the criminal investigation division and other investigative units canvassed neighbourhoods, checked databases, re-interviewed witnesses, reviewed old reports for similarities and ran surveillance operations,” Police Chief Louis Kealoha told Hawaii News Now at the time of Fio’s arrest.
Grateful for and well aware of the difficult measures taken to apprehend her attacker, Kashem is giving back to local law enforcement by volunteering at the Hawaii State Judiciary Office. – UPI.
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