Former educator accused of assaulting minor is freed

A state judge on Wednesday ordered the release pending trial of a former Sacred Hearts Academy teacher accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old student.

William E. Plourde, 53, had been in custody since Aug. 7 when he called Hono­lulu police and told them he wanted to turn himself in for allegedly having sexual contact with a minor. His bail was set at $200,000.

Circuit Judge Glenn Kim ordered Plourde released under the supervision of the state Department of Public Safety’s Intake Service Center after Plourde asked for supervised release, release on his own recognizance or bail reduction.

Trial is scheduled for next month.

Prosecutor Kristen Yama­moto had asked Kim to maintain the $200,000 bail because of the nature and number of charges involved.

An Oahu grand jury returned an indictment charging Plourde with seven counts of sexual assault for allegedly having sexual contact with a minor. One of the charges carries a mandatory 20-year prison sentence and prosecutors have stated their intention to seek extended sentencing, which would lengthen the 20-year term to life in prison with the possibility of parole.

Yamamoto also told Kim that Plourde is a flight risk because he has no ties to the community with no job or family here, but defense lawyer Myles Breiner said Plourde is not.

"He’s lived the majority of his life here in Hawaii. He still lives in Hawaii, he’s a resident of Hawaii," Breiner said.

Kim left it up to the Intake Service Center to set conditions by which Plourde must abide while on release.

The Intake Service Center, which had recommended the supervised release, also recommended electronic monitoring, a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew, and that Plourde stay away from Sacred Hearts Academy’s Kaimuki campus.

Another judge had previously ordered Plourde not to have any contact with his alleged victim during his prosecution. The girl’s parents obtained a restraining order against Plourde prohibiting him from contacting their daughter for the next three years.

Yamamoto asked Kim to prohibit Plourde from having contact with all minors, including through electronic means.

"The majority of the alleged contact and communication between the complaining witness in this case (and Plourde) did occur via electronic means," she said.

Kim denied the request, saying that kind of condition is more appropriate for someone who has been convicted and sentenced.

Police said the girl told them Plourde, her former homeroom teacher, sexually molested her in his car in Mililani.

Sacred Hearts Academy Head of School Betty White said Plourde was fired Aug. 7 within an hour of school administrators receiving and confirming a claim against him.