Kamehameha expels students in sex case

By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer

Kamehameha Schools football players and other students targeted by a sexual misconduct investigation have been expelled from the Kapalama campus, where officials — reeling from three consecutive sex scandals in a week — vow to do what they can to steer students toward better behavior.

Although sources familiar with the investigation have said there are six boys and two girls involved in the case and that all but one boy have been expelled, the school has declined to confirm those reports, saying only that disciplinary actions "include expulsions of some students."

The sources declined to be named because of the school's decision not to go public with the details. They also wanted to protect their relationships with those involved.

Yesterday's announcement follows a string of events that began more than a week ago with news reports that students had videotaped sexual acts and that other students had seen the recordings. The students were placed on administrative leave from campus — the football players suspended from the team — during the investigation.

Then came two unrelated events: a lawsuit filed in federal court last week; and, on Friday, the arrest of a Kamehameha boy accused of sexual assault involving a girl student.

Michael Chun, school president and headmaster, said the discipline is based on sexual misconduct, not on the alleged videorecordings. Although sources have said that school officials have found witnesses testifying to seeing tapes, the officials themselves "have not seen, nor do we have a copy of, any video tape," according to Chun's written statement.

Students have 10 days to appeal the decision to school authorities, said Ray Soon, Kamehameha Schools' vice president for community relations and communications.

Chun said the school decided to take the "unprecedented" step of disclosing some information about disciplinary action because events "led the community to question the integrity and values of our school."

"Let us be very clear: Sexual misconduct and sexual harassment are not condoned or tolerated at Kamehameha Schools.

"We are in the process of assembling a team of experts to help us review our sexual harassment policies and identify additional actions we can take to encourage and influence healthy, appropriate, respectful attitudes, relationships and behaviors," he said.

The reaction last night was mixed. From parents associated with the football team, there was frustration with the spotlight trained on the school for a week, and muted relief that the disruption may be ending.

And there was applause from alumni who had been hoping for precisely this kind of official response.

"I think we're all encouraged that they're recognizing the issues," said Jan Dill, president of Na Pua a Ke Ali'i Pauahi. "I'm hoping this signals a more conscious defense of the values that Kamehameha stands for."

Na Pua is a nonprofit organization formed to support the will of Bernice Pauahi Bishop, the school founder. Dill acknowledged that today's standards of sexual behavior are very different from what Bishop, a princess in the Kamehameha line of Hawaiian royalty, supported.

"It's a horrendous battle between the values of the world and the values of Pauahi," he said.

Beadie Kanahele Dawso was legal counsel for Na Pua and a longtime advocate for reforms during the school's leadership overhaul four years ago. Her reaction was a mixture of praise and sympathy.

"I feel for the educators involved," she said. "There's no way they could not feel responsible in some way that they had not been (sufficiently) judicious in watching over the students.

"That doesn't mean I don't feel for the parents," she added. "They are probably the ones suffering more than the kids."

On Tuesday, a former Kamehameha student and her mother filed a federal lawsuit against the school saying that the girl was sexually assaulted and harassed by a boy classmate during a five-year period beginning in 1998. The lawsuit said the assaults were made by a football player, who was expelled from the school before the 2002 school year.

The attorney for the girl said the lawsuit was filed as a result of the report involving the videotaped sex acts.

School officials have said the lawsuit "contained many untruths and is a deliberate attempt to capitalize on the allegations that came to light last week."

The 15-year-old boy arrested Friday was booked on two counts of first-degree sexual assault and one count of third-degree sexual assault, and released pending further investigation.

In that case, a 14-year-old girl told police that she was sexually assaulted over an eight-month period by a classmate at the school. The girl told police that the incidents occurred during school hours on campus.

Reach Vicki Viotti at vviotti@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8053.

Correction: Beadie Kanahele Dawson was legal counsel for Na Pua a Ke Ali'i Pauahi. A previous version of this story incorrectly described her relationship with the group.