Oahu Man Sentenced to 40 Years in Prison for Sexual Exploitation of a Child

HONOLULU – Kalani Kaaiawaawa, 24, of Honolulu, was sentenced by Senior United States 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, followed by a lifetime of supervised release. Kaaiawaawa was also ordered to pay $33,000 in restitution to victims identified in the child pornography he possessed.

According to information presented to the court between at least 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. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) discovered the recordings on Kaaiawaawa’s phones in connection with the execution of a search warrant at Kaaiawaawa’s residence. In total, investigators found more than 100,000 images and videos on the two phones containing child pornography, including depictions of children as young as two years old being sexually assaulted. The FBI also discovered chat room conversations in which 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. Kaaiawaawa has been detained since his arrest one day after the execution of the search warrant on November 10, 2020.

“Justice for the child victim of Kaaiawaawa’s horrendous series of crimes has been served by the Court’s sentence,” said United States Attorney Clare E. Connors. “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.”

“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 FBI Special Agent in Charge Steven Merrill. “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."

The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael F. Albanese prosecuted the case.