HAWAII
Honolulu Star-Bulletin
By Gary T. Kubota
gkubota@starbulletin.com
WAILUKU » A Catholic deacon charged with 60 counts of sexual assault of a minor allegedly had oral sex with a boy nearly once a month for more than two years, according to an indictment that was unsealed yesterday.
James Ronald Gonsalves, 68, is accused of 30 counts of first-degree sexual assault for the alleged oral sex incidents, and 30 counts of third-degree sexual assault, which are described in the indictment only as sexual contact with the boy.
He is also accused of two counts of attempted first-degree sexual assaults for alleged incidents in 2002 and 2003, according to the grand jury indictment.
Gonsalves, who is on leave as a paid deacon and administrator at St. Ann Church in Waihee, has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
He has been freed after posting $100,000 bail pending trial on Sept. 26 and must remain in his Wailuku home except when visiting his attorney's office or his mother, a patient at Maui Memorial Medical Center.
Details in the indictment were scant but indicated that the alleged first- and third-degree sexual assaults occurred nearly once a month from June 2002 until last December. The indictment also alleges he had oral sex with the boy twice this year, the last time on June 14.
Maui police have alleged that the June 14 assault occurred at St. Ann Church and that the assaults happened when the boy was ages 12 to 15.