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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, January 23, 2003

Ex-teacher not guilty of sexual assault on girl

By David Waite
Advertiser Courts Writer

A Circuit Court jury deliberated less than two hours yesterday before finding former Wahiawa Middle School social studies teacher Gabriel Kealoha not guilty of sexual-assault charges brought against him by a former student.

Kealoha, 29, was charged with six counts of sexual assault after the girl, now 15, told authorities that Kealoha attacked her on Sunday, May 21, 2001, in a portable classroom on the school's campus after he had taken her and another girl to the beach.

Kealoha's lawyer, Victor Bakke, maintained throughout the trial that the girl fabricated the story in an attempt to gain sympathy. He stood by that theory yesterday.

"There was no medical evidence and there was no physical evidence in this case," Bakke said in the hallway outside the courtroom after the verdict was announced.

He said the girl waited five months to file a complaint against Kealoha and that she had a history of making up allegations.

He said he expects Kealoha, who has been on paid administrative leave since he was indicted in December 2001, to be fully reinstated.

Kealoha, who walked out of the courtroom glassy eyed and holding his wife's hand, declined to talk with reporters.

"This is a horrible situation for him," Bakke said. "This verdict means nothing, this verdict only means that he's not going to jail."

Family members, relatives and friends of the girl sobbed continuously from the time the verdict was read until Circuit Judge Karen Ahn finished polling each of the jurors to ensure they agreed with the verdict, a process that took about five minutes. They left without commenting.

Lucianne Khalaf, city deputy prosecutor, said she was dismayed by the verdict and questioned whether jurors even took the time to examine the evidence that was presented during the two-week trial.

"The verdicts do not reflect the facts that were presented at trial," Khalaf said.

As in many sexual-assault cases, the trial boiled down to "his word against her word," Khalaf said.