Suit claims school, DOE complicit in sex assault

A former Campbell High School softball player has filed suit against state Department of Education Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi and six school officials and athletics personnel, alleging that she was sexually assaulted by an assistant coach.

The plaintiff, represented by attorney Myles Breiner and identified only as “Jane Doe” in the complaint, accused her former coach Kevin Nagamine of “grooming” her over the course of four years, starting when she was 14, resulting in an eventually sexual relationship when she turned 18 in 2016.

In addition to Nagamine and Matayoshi, the suit, which was filed in U.S. District Court, lists as defendants former Campbell Principal Naomi Takemori, current Principal John Henry Lee, softball coach Michael Hermosura, former athletic director Duane Izumi and current athletic director Samuel Delos Reyes.

Nagamine worked with the plaintiff as coach of the junior varsity team and was an assistant varsity coach. According to the suit, Nagamine groomed the plaintiff for a relationship by “encouraging, manipulating and befriending her by giving her inappropriate gifts and presents, including but not limited to a bag, a jacket, a bracelet, a ring, a necklace and an “infinity charm.”

The suit said Nagamine also drove the student home after practice, took her out to eat and gave her excessive attention, which eventually included intimate talks in which he encouraged the student to confide in him and in which he discussed his own family and marital issues.

The plaintiff alleges that Nagamine manipulated her into an intimate relationship that included sexual acts carried out in his car and at his home amid promises that “they would have a wonderful life together.”

The suit asserts that Campbell administrators and athletics department officials knew that Nagamine was a danger to the young women under his charge because of his prior relationship with a student-athlete, whom he later married. That previous relationship led to Nagamine’s departure from the school. However, as the suit notes, he was later rehired.

“Despite his tortious conduct dating back to 1997, and his resignation and/or termination from coaching for engaging in a relationship with a softball team student, Defendant Nagamine was rehired as a girls softball coach and allowed by Defendants to remain as a coach for female softball playing students and engage in whatever tortious activities he fancied,” the complaint reads.

The student is seeking unspecified damages on the grounds that the DOE failed to provide adequate procedures to ensure her safety and the defendants specifically knew about Nagamine’s past inappropriate behavior but “set up a pattern and practice of acceptance of sexual abuse.” The suit further alleges that the defendants violated Title IX by failing to protect her from sexual harassment.

Lindsay Chambers, a DOE spokeswoman, said the department has not yet been served with the lawsuit and cannot comment on any litigation.

Jane Doe v. State of Hawaii by Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Scribd