A transgendered probationer claiming that a supervisor overseeing her community service work inappropriately touched her and propositioned her for sexual favors posted a live video of the alleged encounter to social media.
Makana Milho, 21, was ordered to complete six days of community service to get a theft charge expunged from her record. She said her fifth day was interrupted when the work-site supervisor acted inappropriately.
Milho secretly recorded and posted live to Facebook approximately 30 minutes of conversations that she alleges were between her and the supervisor between 7:34 and 8:36 a.m. Friday.
One of the videos went viral, and by Monday afternoon already had garnered 197,000 Facebook views, 2,042 shares and 1,350 comments. Two others received thousands of views and hundreds of comments.
In the viral video a man can be heard telling Milho that she can go home early if she will perform sexual favors. Milho, who is represented by Honolulu attorney Myles Breiner, also alleges that the man tried to hold her hand and pinched and slapped her buttocks while she was cleaning park bathrooms.
It’s clear from the video that the supervisor knew she was transgendered.
“He said if I told anyone they would not believe me because I’m a felon. I was uncomfortable and stuck all the way up on Royal Summit,” Milho said during an interview Monday with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser at Breiner’s office. “I was in shock. I didn’t know what to do. I said anything to keep him on his side of the truck until we got to a more public area.”
Milho said she and the man cleaned four or five parks before he dropped her off at Pearlridge mall. In one of the videos, a man can be heard telling her he will let her go home early with credit for an eight-hour day. The man cautions her numerous times not to reveal their conversation to others.
Milho reported the encounter Saturday to the Honolulu Police Department, which classified it as a sexual assault in the fourth degree, a misdemeanor, because of the alleged spank. She also has made arrangements to make a formal complaint Wednesday at the Blaisdell Park community service office.
The state Judiciary has primary responsibility for daily operations of the court system, although probationers can perform community service through state, city or other agencies.
“This is the first that we are hearing about this,” said state Judiciary spokeswoman Tammy Mori. “We don’t have a probation officer fitting this individual’s name or description. However, we are taking these allegations seriously and will look into them further.”
Breiner said he’s advocating for Milho because she has been failed by the judiciary system. Breiner said Milho spent years bouncing from foster family to foster family. She became a felon after she aged out of the system and took a luxury purse to pay her rent.
“She’s been a victim of the Family Court system, foster care and now adult probationary services,” he said.
He said he wants to ensure that Milho’s complaint is properly investigated.
“There’s a tendency not to take complaints from the LGBTQ community seriously,” Breiner said.
For instance, Breiner said HPD should have classified Milho’s complaint as a second- or third-degree sexual assault.
“The only way that she could get the charge wiped off her record was by doing community service. This person took advantage of a vulnerable person who had no voice,” he said.