Former Punahou girls basketball coach pleads guilty for child sex crimes
By Jeremiah Estrada
Click here for updates on this story
HONOLULU (KITV) — Former Punahou girls basketball coach Dwayne Yuen pleaded guilty to child exploitation and harassment offenses involving 10 victims.
The 51-year-old changed his plea today after he previously pleaded not guilty in October 2023.
Yuen pleaded guilty to committing crimes against three minors. These include sex trafficking a minor in 2005 and 2006, coercing a minor into sexual activity in 2006 and producing, receiving, and possessing child pornography of a minor in and around 2020 to 2023.
Yuen also pled guilty to harassing victims through anonymous and obscene communications from 2021 to 2023. The FBI arrested him in February 2023 and he has since been detained at the Federal Detention Center in Honolulu.
Court pleadings and information in court hearings described the crimes as spanning nearly two decades. During Yuen’s career, he was mostly a youth basketball coach for middle school and high school-aged girls. He coached both private club teams and various private and public school teams on Oahu.
Yuen’s crimes came to light after several victims stepped forward, including his former student MMA World Champ Ilima-Lei Macfarlane.
“Cases involving the exploitation of minors by those they trust often span years, including because perpetrators spend time grooming their targets, who then may delay reporting the crimes for various reasons,” said United States Attorney Clare E. Connors. “This case represents a concerted, persistent effort by law enforcement, advocates and the targets themselves to seek justice and healing in the criminal system.”
Yuen’s sentencing date is set for April 3, 2025. He faces a mandatory 15 years in prison and up to 144 years for all 12 of the offenses he pleaded guilty for. Yuen will also face a term of supervised release of up to life, mandatory restitution and he must register as a sex offender.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
