Kaua'i plea can't be withdrawn

Advertiser Staff

LIHU'E, Kaua'i — A Kaua'i judge yesterday denied charter school administrator Hedy Sullivan's request to withdraw her guilty plea on charges of assaulting her son.

Sullivan, who heads Kula Aupuni Niihau A Kahelelani Aloha charter school in Kekaha, pleaded guilty Jan. 18 to two counts of assault and admitted hitting the boy, then 11 years old.

After hiring a new attorney, William Feldhacker, she filed a motion to withdraw the plea, arguing she had been under stress and was unable to assist her original attorney, Warren Perry, in preparing a defense.

Fifth Circuit Judge George Masuoka denied the plea withdrawal request, and Sullivan's sentencing is scheduled for Tuesday. She faces five years in jail on each assault charge.

Despite Sullivan's admission that she struck a child, the board of directors of her school voted to keep her on the job. Kula Aupuni Niihau A Kahelelani Aloha is a school of about 35 students.