HONOLULU — A Honolulu judge has sentenced a former assistant band director at Kamehameha Schools to 10 years in prison for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old student.
Circuit Court Judge Faauuga Tootoo on Friday sentenced James Maeda for 10 counts of second-degree sex assault and one count of third-degree sex assault.
The assaults occurred on four occasions between June 2017 and February 2018, when police arrested Maeda.
The victim told police that Maeda sexually assaulted her multiple times at the school’s Kapalama campus in Honolulu and at Maeda’s home. The two also had sex at her home when her parents weren’t there.
Maeda apologized to the victim and her family in court. He said he’s been in sex-offender treatment and attending Bible study at his church.
“This has allowed me to gain a deeper and more complete understanding of how my actions have negatively affected my victim,” he said. He said he wished he could take his actions back.
Tootoo told Maeda that he had abused his position of authority.
“You were supposed to shape her life, not break her down,” he said. “You didn’t care about the consequences. You abused your authority as a teacher.”
Authorities said they found out about the relationship after the victim’s mother found inappropriate texts on the girl’s phone.
At sentencing, the victim’s mother addressed Maeda and the court.
“This man has taken so much from her,” she said, crying. “He manipulated her since she was in seventh grade. He made her believe that he loved her, that she could trust him.”
The Associated Press typically does not name victims of sexual assault. The AP isn’t identifying the mother in order to protect the identity of the victim.
