Reported Sexual Assault in Volcano Area Leads to 1 Arrest

A Volcano man is facing sexual assault charges after reportedly attacking a woman outside her residence, police say.

The incident occurred on Sunday, April 11. According to Hawai‘i Police Department, Puna Patrol officers responded to a report of sexual assault in the Volcano area just before 5 a.m. Officers contacted a 57-year-old woman who reported she heard a dog barking outside her home and went to check it out.

Police say she was then tackled to the ground by a man and sexually assaulted.

While conducting checks of the surrounding area, officers located a man, later identified as 46-year-old James Michael Taylor, sleeping in the bushes on a neighboring vacant lot a short distance from the victim’s residence. Taylor was arrested without incident.

Taylor was charged with four counts of sexual assault, one count of kidnapping, and one count of assault. Taylor’s bail was set at $187,000 and he is being held at the East Hawaii detention center awaiting his preliminary hearing, scheduled for later today, April 13, 2021.