A criminal case involving the sexual assault of an 8-year-old Wai'anae girl ended yesterday with the victim's grandmother urging rehabilitation for the attacker, but the defendant declining to say anything before receiving a maximum 20-year prison term.

The grandmother choked back tears as she told Circuit Judge Richard Pollack that she hopes Yomeo Eieta will go through a rehabilitation program in prison so that he will know right from wrong.

"And hopefully he won't hurt anyone else, youth or adult," the grandmother told the judge. "That is my hope."

Eieta, 40, chose not to address the judge.

"I have nothing to say, your honor," Eieta, a native of Chuuk, Micronesia, said through an interpreter.

Deputy Public Defender Walter Rodby later said Eieta did not want to speak in court yesterday because he's "ashamed" and doesn't recall much of what happened because he was drunk.

Eieta told police he drank two to three cases of beer before the the assault, Rodby said.

Pollack sentenced Eieta to the prison term that was mandated by a plea agreement.

He told Eieta that he had committed "heinous acts upon the most vulnerable member of our society, an 8-year-old child."

Eieta still has "not taken responsibility" for his conduct, the judge said.

The judge said the sentence will give Eieta enough time to think about "the lasting effects" of his actions on the victim and her family.

Eieta was accused of approaching the girl outside the Wai'anae Neighborhood Community Center the night of April 28, taking her to a vacant lot and raping her. The crime shocked and outraged the neighborhood.

Eieta was charged with four counts of first-degree sexual assault, one count of third-degree sexual assault and kidnapping. As part of a plea agreement, Eieta pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree sexual assault, which carries a mandatory 20-year prison term. The other charges were dropped.

Rodby told the judge his client told him earlier that he has been "labeled" in prison and has been "treated extremely harshly."

Rodby said his client realizes he has "substance-abuse issues" and needs "counseling with regards to his behavior."

City Prosecutor Peter Carlisle told the judge the case involves the "violent sexual assault" of the girl by a stranger. Her injuries included scratches and bruises on her lips and around her mouth, Carlisle said.

Carlisle later said his impression of the girl when she testified earlier this year before an O'ahu grand jury was that she appeared to be "very resilient" even thought she suffered an "obviously very, very traumatic event."

"Right now, she seems to be healing and healing well," he said.

Carlisle said an important reason for the plea agreement was to make sure the girl did not have to testify again and relive the trauma.

The girl's family also favored sparing the girl from taking the witness stand and being subjected to cross-examination by the defense, he said.

"We felt this was an appropriate disposition of the case," Carlisle said.

The state Paroling Authority will set the minimum term Eieta must serve before he can be released on parole.

Carlisle said he will recommend that the minimum be set at a "very high" level, possibly at 20 years, which would mean Eieta would have to serve the full term.

Rodby said he will not recommend a specific amount of time, but will ask that Eieta receive sex-offender treatment before release.

Reach Ken Kobayashi at kkobayashi@honoluluadvertiser.com.