A Circuit Court judge Friday found that a man accused of luring a 13-year-old girl into having sex with him is mentally fit to proceed to trial.
Elwood Reynolds Jr. was 26 in April 2022 when he allegedly posed online as a 13-year-old boy and lured a Wahiawa teenager into having sex with him.
Judge Ronald Johnson, after considering the reports of three mental health examiners, found Reynolds mentally fit and set a trial date for Jan. 3 before Judge Rowena Somerville. Reynolds has been out on $100,000 bail since May 18, 2022.
He was indicted on five counts of first-degree sexual assault, two counts of third-degree sexual assault, first-degree electronic enticement of a child and second-degree custodial interference. If a person has sex with a minor under the age of 14 or is no less than five years older than the minor, he or she commits first-degree sexual assault, according to state law.
According to court documents, Reynolds met the girl April 24, 2022, on social media, called himself “Junior Kaiola” and pretended to be 13. The relationship progressed quickly, and the pair met in person May 2.
The girl had been dropped off at Wahiawa Middle School at 7:30 a.m. But instead of going to school, she met Reynolds nearby, and the two went to various locations by bus, including Makaha, Waianae and Ala Moana Regional Park, where he allegedly performed sexual acts including intercourse.
The girl’s mother, through help of friends and a woman online who saw the posts, managed to find Reynolds’ mother. His mother found her son and the girl and brought the girl to police.
Police arrested the 26-year-old May 11, 2022.
On April 11 the court granted a motion for a mental evaluation to determine fitness to proceed to trial.
On Aug. 21 the state asked the court to order a new mental evaluation by one of the examiners outside the presence of his mother, which the court did.
