Sex Abuse Treatment Center, prosecutor’s office resolve payment issue

Officials said services at the Sex Abuse Treatment Center will not be compromised following yearlong negotiations over billing between Hawaii Pacific Health and the city Department of the Prosecuting Attorney that resulted in partial payment of an outstanding invoice last week.

For the past 20 years, the Sex Abuse Treatment Center, a program of HPH’s Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children, billed the prosecuting attorney’s office for testing rape kits that are collected from sexual assault victims 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Upon taking office last year, Prosecuting Attorney Steve Alm’s office hired an outside certified public accountant to review certain invoices and supporting documentation to perform necessary due diligence on the amounts requested by the treatment center, Alm told the Honolulu Star- Advertiser.

HPH requested payment of about $700,000 for serv­ices rendered.

“We value our partnership with the Sex Abuse Treatment Center and look forward to continuing our relationship so that survivors of sexual assault can be treated, have their voices heard, and if they choose, participate in the prosecution of their abusers,” Alm said. “I am happy to report that we recently made a payment of over $587,000 to SATC, which represents most of the outstanding requests for payment. Our CPA continues to analyze the remaining amounts and we hope to pay those amounts soon. It is our understanding that no programs or services have been or will be impacted by this issue.”

Lynn Costales Matsuoka, associate director of the Sex Abuse Treatment Center, told the Star-Advertiser that no “programs or services” have been affected as a “result of this accounting issue.”

In a statement, she said the center and prosecutor’s office “are actively working together to resolve this accounting issue. There has already been significant progress toward a financial resolution that supports both (the center) and (the prosecutor’s office).”

Matsuoka said both entities “remain equally committed to this ongoing partnership. We continue to work in collaboration to support the community and serve the needs of sexual assault survivors in Hawaii.”

The center provides comprehensive services for survivors of sexual assault, including medical care, crisis counseling and therapy, and works to prevent sexual violence through public policy, awareness and education, according to its website.

The billing resolution coincides with April’s National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month.

“Anyone can be a victim of sexual assault. It doesn’t matter who you are, how old you are or what your background is. We encourage all victims to get some form of support,” interim Honolulu Police Chief Rade Vanic told the Star-Advertiser. “We’re all here to help.”

Nearly 1 in 5 women in the U.S. experience a rape or attempted rape, and nearly 44% of all women and about 25% of all men experience some form of sexual violence in their lifetime, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In Honolulu there were 328 cases of forcible rape in 2020, according to Honolulu Police Department statistics, compared to 342 in 2019, 333 in 2018, 285 in 2017 and 382 in 2016.

HPD has eight detectives assigned to its Sex Crimes Detail who are trained to handle felony and misdemeanor sexual assault cases, including those involving cases from Child Welfare Services and other law enforcement agencies, according to Lt. Vince Legaspi, who leads the detail.

A detective is on call 24/7, and each detective typically manages a caseload of eight to 12 investigations at a time. Because of the on-call schedule and disturbing nature of the cases, many detectives choose to transfer to other details or assignments, he said.

“The work is not for every detective,” Legaspi said.

The Sex Crimes Detail uses a victim-oriented approach to mitigate further trauma, according to HPD officials, and a victim and witness counselor was hired in 2020 to provide further support. In addition to CWS, police work with the Children’s Justice Center, Sex Abuse Treatment Center and the prosecutor’s office.

Who to contact

If you are a victim or suspect that someone is a victim of sex assault, contact the Honolulu Police Department or the Sex Abuse Treatment Center at satchawaii.com or 808-527-7273.