A Maui judge sentenced a Lahaina man to 60 years in prison for reportedly sexually assaulting a child over the course of four years.
Roberto Omar Morales Andrade, 49, went on trial in July over 18 counts of sexual assault — eight counts in the first degree and another eight in the third degree. After a two-week trial, the jury unanimously returned a guilty verdict on all counts.
On Monday, Judge Kirstin Hamman handed down a sentence condemning Andrade to three consecutive 20-year sentences, giving him a release date of 2086.
According to a sentencing memorandum, Andrade repeatedly assaulted the victim, a nine-year-old girl at the time the assaults began, between 2014 and 2018. Andrade was reportedly in a relationship with the victim's mother, living in the same household for some time, and repeatedly assaulted the victim with increasing severity, offering money for sexual favors and telling the victim her mother would not believe her if she reported his actions.
In 2018, the victim, then 13 years old, described the abuse via text to another person, which was eventually read by a family member, leading to Andrade’s initial arrest, but he was released without bail pending further investigation. That investigation was reopened four years later, in 2022, leading to Andrade being arrested again.
Andrade first went to trial in 2024, but the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict, causing a mistrial and allowing Andrade to be released once again pending a retrial.
At the time, Maui County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Frank Loyd Jr. urged the court to not permit Andrade’s release, as Andrade, not a U.S. citizen, was immediately placed in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and faced deportation to Mexico, which would prevent him from standing trial. Ultimately, however, Andrade’s federal deportation hearings were postponed until 2028, allowing the case to continue.
“[Andrade] took advantage of his position as an adult to manipulate a young, vulnerable victim into believing that this routine of sexual abuse was normal,” Loyd wrote. “The only way to protect … the public from further crimes of the Defendant is to incarcerate him for as long as possible.”
A victim impact statement submitted by the victim’s mother reported that her daughter was deeply emotionally traumatized by Andrade’s actions and had much of her social life curtailed “out of a very real and constant fear that the offender was stalking, watching or seeking an opportunity to approach her.”
Loyd initially called for Andrade to serve one consecutive 20-year sentence for each year he subjected the victim to abuse, for an 80-year total sentence.
“This administration is committed to pursuing justice for survivors of child sexual assault and holding offenders accountable through prosecution under the law,” said Maui Prosecuting Attorney Andrew Martin. “Every child deserves to be safe, protected and heard.”
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