A 24-year-old Honolulu man got 40 years in federal prison Tuesday for recording the repeated sexual assault of a child between the age of 6 and 8, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Kalani Kaaiawaawa of
Honolulu was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright to 40 years in federal prison for two counts of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of possession of child pornography, according to a release from federal prosecutors.
After he gets out of federal prison Kaaiawaawa will be on probation for life. Kaaiawaawa also owes his victims $33,000 in restitution.
Between August 2018
and November 2020, Kaaiawaawa “repeatedly sexually assaulted a child who was six to eight years old at the time of the assaults, and video-recorded the assaults.”
In a Jan. 12 sentencing memo to the court, Kaaiawaawa wrote that he took “full responsibility for everything and I am extremely
remorseful.”
“I’ve noticed all of the pain and harm I’ve caused to those closest to me when that was never my intention. My mom has spent countless days crying due to my actions. I’ve embarrassed my family countless times since that day my household got put in handcuffs and stood on the side of a busy highway in nothing but our sleepwear while the FBI searched our house,” he wrote to Seabright. “All because of me, I’ve broken trust given to me by my loved ones by taking advantage of it, along with their kindness. I’m sorry for all of this and more. I’m especially sorry to the victim and his family for causing irreversible pain, embarrassment, shock, worry, anger, and so much more feelings due to my selfish actions.”
Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation allegedly found more than 100,000 images and videos on the two of Kaaiawaawa’s phones containing child pornography, including “depictions of children as young as two years old being sexually assaulted.”
Agents also allegedly found chat room conversations where Kaaiawaawa shared child pornography, bragged about his assaults on the child exploitation victim, and revealed that he had begun to “touch” a second victim, who was two years old at the time.
“The FBI remains committed in investigating and bringing to prosecution those who continue to take advantage of our most vulnerable population — our keiki in Hawaii,” said Steven Merrill, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Honolulu Division. “This sentence underscores the egregious and reprehensible nature of these types of crimes and highlights how seriously the FBI takes its Crimes Against Children investigative
responsibilities.”
Kaaiawaawa has been in custody at the Federal Detention Center Honolulu since his arrest on Nov. 10, 2020.
“Justice for the child victim of Kaaiawaawa’s horrendous series of crimes has been served by the Court’s sentence,” said U.S. Attorney Clare E. Connors, in a statement. “Our children — the most vulnerable victims in our society — are the priority of our law enforcement community and we will continue to hold sexual predators accountable for their terrible crimes.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael F. Albanese prosecuted the case.
