‘Safe house’ residents and workers say city retaliated against them for speaking to authorities in corruption probe

The city has retaliated against residents and employees of a controversial “safe house” for victims of domestic violence after they spoke to government investigators looking into public corruption, according to the American Civil Liberties Union and an attorney with knowledge of the situation.

The Honolulu Department of the Prosecuting Attorney, which runs the safe house, denied the allegations and noted that an independent entity just ruled in the case of one employee, finding no retaliation.

The ACLU on Wednesday released a letter it sent to the prosecutor’s office saying several former and current residents provided the ACLU with credible information about mismanagement, abuse and constitutional violations at the Makiki facility, which is scheduled to close at the end of August.

Retaliation was among the issues raised.

“We have serious concerns about retaliation because we understand that residents were recently terminated following their collaboration with state and federal investigations,” Mateo Caballero, ACLU’s legal director in Hawaii, wrote in the June 26 letter to Dwight Nadamoto, the acting prosecutor, and two other city officials.

Separately, an Oahu attorney told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser about similar concerns involving employees.

Safe house workers have filed complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alleging they were retaliated against for speaking to federal investigators, according to attorney Megan Kau, who said she has direct knowledge of the situation.

“The Department of the Prosecuting Attorney emphatically denies that anyone has been retaliated against for speaking about the safe house,” spokesman Brooks Baehr said in a written statement.

He said the EEOC issued a decision that his office received Wednesday finding the retaliation allegations by an employee were unsubstantiated. Baehr said he could not provide a copy of the ruling because it is confidential.

Under investigation

Federal authorities are looking into the city’s acquisition of the safe house property as part of a wide-ranging corruption probe that already has resulted in multiple convictions, including those of former Police Chief Louis Kealoha and his wife, Katherine Kealoha, a former deputy prosecutor.

Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro, who pushed for the safe house, is a target of the federal investigation. He currently is on paid leave.

The ACLU did not have information about the state probe’s focus.

The safe house, which has 21 apartments, is set to close at the end of August because the city budget does not include sufficient funding to maintain operations, according to Baehr.

The Makiki complex, which has been controversial since its opening, was considered unique nationally because it was run by prosecutors. The program is meant to keep women safe while their cases move through the court process.

‘More like a jail’

Critics, however, said prosecutors have no business running a facility for domestic violence or sex abuse survivors because the interests of prosecutors can conflict with those of survivors.

Among the violations the ACLU cited in its letter were searches of residents’ apartments, communications and belongings without warrants or suspicion of wrongdoing; failure to provide adequate mental health and medical care; and retaliation against residents for reporting abuses.

When the residents agreed to accept housing, they signed agreements that required them to testify in criminal proceedings against their alleged abuser and to abide by a host of restrictions, including not leaving the premises without being accompanied by a staff representative.

“It was more like a jail than a safe house,” Kau said.

Caballero said staff members were not trained to deal with victims traumatized by domestic violence and, as far as the ACLU could tell, did not follow the right procedures for dealing with such victims.

He said his organization has been hearing from residents since at least January 2018 about the violations. “It corroborates that it’s not a one-time thing,” Caballero told the Star-Advertiser.

Baehr said all residents were aware of the rules before they moved in and that the free program was entirely voluntary, meaning the women could quit at any time.

Five residents in all have been dropped from the program because they violated rules, according to Baehr.

Seven adults and eight children currently live at the house and will have to find new accommodations by the time the facility closes.

Mayor Kirk Caldwell said his administration is pursuing plans to convert the complex to housing for homeless families, particularly women with children.

“We can get every single room filled,” he said.

Caldwell told the Star-­Advertiser he hopes to have the complex ready to take in families by the fall.

Honolulu Star-Advertiser staff writer Gordon Y.K. Pang contributed to this report.