The Hawaii Supreme Court has reinstated the previously overturned conviction of a 48-year-old Kailua-­ Kona man for sexually assaulting a minor girl.

The high court’s decision invalidates an October 2024 conviction reversal by the Intermediate Court of Appeals in the case of Joshua Masuda-Mercado. It also affirms both the conviction of Masuda-Mercado and the 20-year prison sentence handed down to him by Third Circuit Chief Judge Wendy De Weese in December 2022.

A Kona jury in September 2022 found Masuda-­Mercado guilty of continuous sexual assault of a minor under the age of 14 and attempted first-degree sexual assault of a minor, both Class A felonies. The incidents occurred between November 2014 and August 2018, with a separate incident in July 2019.

In its decision overturning the or

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