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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, August 17, 2009

Former Ka Leo editor prompts another correction

Advertiser Staff

The University of Hawai'i-Manoa student newspaper, Ka Leo, last week published a second correction linked to former editor Kris DeRego, who had allegedly fabricated quotes in 14 of his stories from January 2008 to May 2009.

Ka Leo said it has not been able to verify the existence of a source provided by DeRego to a student reporter for an April 2009 article on the sex trade and "sex slaves" in Hawai'i.

The correction claims that DeRego gave the reporter an e-mail address for a source named Marissa Higa, whom DeRego said was involved in the sex trade industry in Hawai'i. The article identified Higa as a UH English major. Ka Leo said no one by that name has been in the UH student database for the past four years.

DeRego said he helped Higa escape from a local brothel in spring 2008 and allowed her to live at his house for a couple of days. He told Ka Leo that Higa does exist, but could not produce her address, phone number or place of employment, the correction said.

Earlier this year, DeRego denied assertions that he made up 29 sources in 14 articles he wrote, and said copy editors may have inserted the mistakes.