Hawaii man, 43, found dead days after child sex assault accusations

Jesse Puaa, 43, was found dead 13 days after he allegedly committed sexual assault against the children he had been babysitting, authorities said. (Honolulu CrimeStoppers)

A Hawaii man was found dead in a river nearly two weeks after he allegedly committed sexual assault against children he had been babysitting, authorities said Tuesday.

Jesse Puaa, 43, was asked to watch the children by their father on Aug. 18, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported. The children later told their father they were sexually assaulted, the report said.

Puaa was the subject of an Aug. 22 alert by CrimeStoppers, a nonprofit partnership between city police and community leaders, the paper reported. He was wanted on suspicion of first-degree assault and two counts of third-degree sexual assault, the alert said.

Police told the paper that Puaa’s body was found floating in a river in Laie, about 33 miles north of Honolulu, last Friday.

An autopsy was being conducted to determine Puaa’s cause of death, authorities said.

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