Big Island man charged after child porn videos reportedly found on his cellphone

A man from Nā‘ālehu facing child abuse charges was granted supervised release by a Kona District Court judge after he was found with dozens of child pornography videos on his cellphone.

Dawson Dominador Pilanca, 43, was arrested on Thursday and charged with second-degree promotion of child abuse and third-degree promotion of child abuse following a months-long investigation into child sexual exploitation by Hawaiʻi Police Department Vice detectives and the Hawai‘i Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

The investigation into Pilanca was launched in December 2024 after a cyber tip revealed possession of child pornography.

According to court documents filed today, Pilanca told investigators he obtained the videos through an application called Telegram. He said he would save these videos, which clearly depicted underage boys, but would delete them because he didn’t have enough storage on his phone to keep multiple files.

“When asked, Pilanca related something to the effect of he likes pornography with children depicted,” court documents indicated.

Pilanca appeared in Kona District Court this morning, where Hawai‘i County prosecutors requested that bail of $100,000 be maintained. Judge Mahilani Hiatt ultimately granted the 43-year-old supervised release.

Pilanca is ordered to appear for a preliminary hearing on May 28.