The father of a 30-year-old Wahiawa man facing federal child pornography charges after he allegedly forced two young girls living in a foster home to perform sex acts that he filmed in exchange for food denied the allegations Wednesday.
Peter Mahoe told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in an interview that his son, Bryson Joshua “Bula” Mahoe, who was charged by a federal grand jury Oct. 20 with one count of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography, was never alone with the two girls who accused him of abuse.
According to federal court documents, the girls accused their then-foster parents of withholding food from them. Peter Mahoe acknowledged that he and his wife, Dorothy, were the girls’ adoptive foster parents, but said the rules of the Mahoe home ensured the girls always ate first.
It was the first time Mahoe and his wife had ever served as foster parents.
According to an affidavit by an FBI agent working the case, Bryson Mahoe would then allegedly give the girls snacks and food if they performed sex acts on him that he would film or photograph.
“No way. He was always working like me. He was never alone with these kids,” Peter Mahoe said. “I am puzzled of what they are accusing him of and us as the foster parents. I can’t believe it. We always ate, we always cooked, we never starved. I’m just puzzled about what’s going on.”
Peter and Dorothy Mahoe were approached by family members in Waimanalo about serving as foster parents for the girls, who were under the age of 10 at the time.
“My cousins came to me and said they need help. We are still Godly people. My cousin needed help. The kids were going to the state system. My wife and me prayed on it and the Lord brought the girls to us. We never laid a hand on them, we never abused them, we never starved them,” Mahoe said.
Bryson Mahoe was arrested by Honolulu police Feb. 10 on suspicion of continuous sex assault of a minor under the age of 14. He was released pending investigation when police executed a search warrant and discovered videos and images of child pornography stored on various electronic devices and memory cards in his home.
They allegedly included images and photos of the two minor girls who accused him, and other images and videos of child sex assault, according to court documents.
On Feb. 1, the Honolulu Police Department received a report that two girls had allegedly been sexually abused by a person known to them as Bryson Mahoe, also known as “Bula,” according to federal court documents.
Eight days later on Feb. 9, “minor victim 1” was interviewed by a child adolescent forensic interviewer at the Children’s Justice Center in Nuuanu. During that interview, she said she was about 8 when she, her sister and her brother moved in with the Mahoes, her adoptive foster parents, in July 2016.
“Minor victim 1” said one of her foster parents withheld food from her, her sister and brother. Bryson Mahoe allegedly gave the girls food, but they would have to perform oral sex, allow him to touch their private parts, and take videos and images of themselves nude and while showering, according to federal court documents.
Bryson Mahoe allegedly used a silver-colored iPad and two mobile phones to record the incidents. The girl told investigators that Bryson Mahoe began assaulting her when she was “eight or nine years old and continued until she was approximately 14 or 15 years old,” according to the criminal complaint, or from July 2016 until February.
On April 20, the girl’s sister, “minor victim 2” was interviewed at the CJC and described Bryson Mahoe as a “rapist.” She told investigators she would refuse to let Bryson Mahoe record the incidents, but believed he still recorded them. She said the abuse began when she was about “seven or eight years old” and continued until she was about 14.
The time period for the alleged abuse was the same as her sister’s, July 2016 until February.
Bryson Mahoe was arrested by federal agents Oct. 11. Six days later, U.S. Magistrate Judge Rom A. Trader granted the government’s motion to detain Mahoe without bail before his trial.
It is not the first time Bryson Mahoe has been accused of filming a female against her will.
In 2016 he pleaded no contest to violation of privacy in the first degree, a Class C felony. That offense occurs when a person takes sexual photographs or videotapes of a person without that person’s consent and when the person expects privacy, according to Hawaii Revised Statues.
He was charged May 10, 2016, and his bail was set at $11,000. On Oct. 4, 2016, he received a deferred acceptance of guilty plea, abided by conditions similar to probation, and the charge against him was dismissed Oct. 5, 2020.
Follow-up visits
State Department of Human Services Director Cathy Betts declined a Star- Advertiser request for an interview about the Mahoe case.
“Due to federal and state laws and regulations, we are limited as to what we are able to share,” said Amanda Stevens, public information officer for the state Department of Human Services. “We can share information about the department’s practices and procedures. At a minimum, monthly visitation with youth in foster care is a requirement and part of our practice.”
Child welfare advocates say the state Department of Human Services’ protocols require social workers to perform a follow-up visit and report once per month for each child in foster care.
Randall L.K.M. Rosenberg, a Honolulu attorney, told the Star-Advertiser the protocol should, but does not, require the social worker to meet in private with the child, if age appropriate. In the presence of the foster parents the child might be reluctant to be forthcoming about problems or mistreatment, Rosenberg said.
“In my experience, the monthly protocol is never met. Social workers complain that because of the number of children they are responsible for, they can’t possibly see each child every month, particularly when many foster parents keep changing appointments or are no-shows,” said Rosenberg. “The monthly meeting between social worker and foster child must be mandatory as a term of the foster parents keeping custody of the child. Further, if a social worker is not turning in reports for each assigned child on a monthly basis, the social worker should be confronted and potentially disciplined. If it is a shortage of qualified social workers that is the cause of the problem, that shortage needs to be addressed immediately.”
There should be limits of the numbers of foster children allowed to any single home, in part, because some families use the stipends that come with the foster children as profit, giving the children little, if any, of the benefits, he said.
“Finally, although the law currently requires confidentiality in all matters concerning minor children, this leads to secrecy and lack of accountability by the state and its employees,” said Rosenberg.
State Rep. Ryan Yamane, chair of the state House Committee on Health, Human Services and Homelessness, told the Star-Advertiser he plans to reintroduce House Bill 2424, which would aid the efforts of Child Welfare Services by tightening oversight of foster families in the wake of the 2021 disappearance of 6-year-old Isabella Ariel Kalua from her adoptive home in Waimanalo.
HB 2424 would require that foster families — and families that adopt foster children — be placed under scrutiny as long as the child is a minor for any complaint, even if it’s determined to be unsubstantiated, and despite any rulings by Family Court judges to keep families together.
“There are a lot of resources we could do to help the department (of Human Services) protect children,” said Yamane.
Stevens said the department “appreciates the ongoing support provided to strengthen our existing system.”
She said some areas of need include enhancing the cross-sector system that is mandated with protecting children, including supporting the Judiciary and Guardian Ad Litem programs to ensure a comprehensive response to all concerns regarding abuse and neglect. Increased funding for nonprofit partners who are “our valuable ears and eyes in this important work” is critical as is more support for permanency services, she said.
