A Kona grand jury on Monday indicted a 36-year-old Honokaa man with two counts of second-degree promotion of child abuse and a single count of third-degree promotion of child abuse for allegedly possessing videos of child sexual abuse on three
A Kona grand jury on Monday indicted a 36-year-old Honokaa man with two counts of second-degree promotion of child abuse and a single count of third-degree promotion of child abuse for allegedly possessing videos of child sexual abuse on three different digital media devices.
Joshua Iwasaki is accused of possessing at least 30 videos of children being sexually exploited, with at least one depicting children younger than 12, according to a written statement from the state Attorney General’s office.
In the statement, Attorney General Douglas Chin said, “This is a heinous offense and we will continue to seek out and prosecute anyone engaging in this disgusting and destructive behavior.”
The investigation was conducted by the Hawaii Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in the Attorney General’s office in conjunction with Homeland Security Investigations and the Hawaii Police Department.
Second-degree promotion of child abuse is a Class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and third-degree promotion of child abuse is a Class C felony, which is punishable by up to five years in prison.
Bail is set at $12,000 and a bench warrant has been issued for the arrest of Iwasaki, who has no prior convictions.
