Posted on: Thursday, April 26, 2001

Lawsuit filed in Kona sexual assault case

By Hugh Clark
Advertiser Big Island Bureau

KEALAKEKUA, Hawai'i — A South Kona woman has filed a lawsuit against the head of the Department of Education and others, claiming her son was seduced by his teacher at Honaunau School.

The suit, filed Tuesday by Kona attorney Robert Kim on behalf of Barbara Jane Leinani Parish, also alleges the illicit five-year relationship produced a baby daughter, now in the care of the teacher, Shannon Dumaguin, 35.

Dumaguin, who taught language arts for sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students, was arrested Jan. 26 on suspicion of first-degree sexual assault involving a male under the age of 14. She has not been charged.

Following her arrest, the teacher was suspended without pay from her job at Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalaniana'ole Elementary and Intermediate in Papa'ikou, near Hilo. She had been transferred there from Honaunau in August.

Neither Department of Education officials nor police have commented on the case since her arrest. Dumaguin, who has an unlisted telephone number, has not been available for comment.

The lawsuit names Dumaguin, DOE Superintendent Paul LeMahieu and the state as defendants. The complaint alleges the relationship began in 1996 when the boy was 12, with sexual encounters occurring on campus after school. The relationship continued on weekends and at other times and places after he moved on to higher grade levels, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit also claims the boy, a high school senior who turns 18 later this year, is being denied access to his daughter, whose age has not been disclosed.

Following initial news reports about the case earlier this year, the student suffered "a mental breakdown and was hospitalized and confined to a facility on O'ahu for treatment," the lawsuit states. He continues to receive counseling, according to Kim.

The lawsuit charges that the state failed to provide "a safe school for students who attend Honaunau Elementary School."