Honoka‘a Man Indicted for Child Pornography

Honoka‘a resident Joshua Iwasaki has been indicted for two counts of promoting child abuse in the second degree and one count of promoting child abuse in the third degree for possessing videos of child sexual abuse on three separate digital media devices, Attorney General Doug Chin announced today.

“This is a heinous offense and we will continue to seek out and prosecute anyone engaging in this disgusting and destructive behavior,” said Attorney General Chin.

Iwasaki is accused of possessing at least 30 videos of children being sexually exploited, with at least one depicting children under the age of 12. 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 Hawai‘i County Police Department.

Iwasaki, 36, has no prior convictions.

A Hawai‘i Island grand jury indicted him for: two counts of promoting child abuse in the second degree, which is a class B felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison; and one count of promoting child abuse in the third degree, which is a class C felony, punishable by up to five years in prison.

Bail is set at $12,000 and a bench warrant has been issued for Iwasaki’s arrest.

Download a copy of the indictment here.

This information was provided by the authorities. An indictment is a formal accusation initiating a criminal case, presented by a grand jury and usually required for felonies and other serious crimes. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.