Father seeks removal of son from Kamehameha

Associated Press

The Family Court on Kaua'i has been asked to order that Brayden Mohica-Cummings be removed from Kamehameha Schools on O'ahu and returned to Kaua'i so his father can continue exercising his court-ordered visitation rights.

Brayden Mohica-Cummings and his mother, Kalena Santos Cummings. The boy's father says he has talked with his son only once since the boy enrolled in Kamehameha Schools. Advertiser library photo

The suit said the school had recruited and admitted her son, but reversed the decision just days before classes started after determining Cummings had not proved her son's Hawaiian ancestry.

The boy's father, Kenneth Mohica, filed a motion in Family Court on Sept. 5 saying he "got a sense that the tension and notoriety which the child is under due to his enrollment at Kamehameha Schools is not in the child's best interest.

"He should not have to endure the negativity that is present and will continue to be present as a result of his being a scapegoat to challenge Kamehameha Schools' admissions policy," it said.

Cummings said her son "is doing wonderfully" at school, wants to remain there and is upset that his father is seeking to remove him.

She said she's confident her son is in no danger at Kamehameha Schools.

"I would not put my child at risk if I thought there was any," she said.

In the court filing, Mohica said he had visited his son every weekend over the past four or five years, "doing such activities as hunting and body-boarding and supervising the child's performance of normal chores." But since his son left Kaua'i for school on Aug. 18, he has had one contact, a 15-minute telephone call, the motion said.

Cummings said she will probably seek an extension of the case when she goes to Family Court on Monday so she can arrange for an attorney.