Ex-Punahou basketball coach arrested on porn charges

A longtime girls basketball coach and schoolteacher who settled civil allegations that he groomed and sexually assaulted his players was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for allegedly possessing illegal images of a ninth grade girl he coached in 2016.

Dwayne Yuen, 49, was arrested Thursday and charged by federal criminal complaint with possession of child pornography. He will make his initial appearance at 10:30 a.m. today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Rom A. Trader.

“This complaint charges defendant with repeatedly taking sexual advantage of a minor who played on a team he coached,” said U.S. Attorney Clare E. Connors. “The alleged conduct is a reprehensible violation of the trust both parents and the community place in adults responsible for their children’s athletic endeavors.”

According to the complaint and an affidavit by an FBI agent, federal agents received information in July that Yuen was involved with a 14-year-old girl when he was a basketball coach during her freshman year of high school.

Agents obtained copies of “sexualized text message communications between minor victim 1” and Yuen, “sexually explicit photographs sent to MV1 by Yuen of a male penis, and electronic financial transactions showing that Yuen sent MV1 money on multiple occasions,” according to the affidavit.

Between Sept. 16 and December 2020, while the girl was 17 and Yuen was 47, the conversations between them allegedly made clear that Yuen knew she was underage.

The text messages between Yuen and the victim show that he allegedly kept asking her “to perform sexual acts on him and vice versa; to engage with him in sexually explicit conversations by phone and online; and to send him sexually explicit images of herself, including asking her to masturbate for him on FaceTime,” according to the affidavit.

Yuen allegedly reminded the victim about money he gave her and the favors he had done for her, and continued to offer her money in exchange for sex.

On Aug. 30, FBI agents executed a search warrant on Apple for records associated with Yuen’s Apple ID. Agents found nude photos of the victim with emojis disguising her face that the victim allegedly sent to Yuen.

Two other images recovered include nude photos of the victim from FaceTime chats. The victim told federal agents in December that she was 17 at the time the images were captured.

“It is believed Yuen contacted his victims in person and via electronic communications, engaging in the illegal activity for years, as far back as 2004. Although Yuen resided on Oahu, he may have traveled to other islands and locations while coaching basketball throughout the years,” according to a website set up by the FBI for victims to visit and contact investigators.

Matthew Floyd, acting special agent in charge of the FBI’s Honolulu Field Office, called the charges against Yuen ”disgraceful.”

“Our investigation shows he abused the power of his position as a trusted member of the community to exploit the most vulnerable — our keiki,” said Floyd in a statement. “Protecting our children and holding those who prey on them accountable is a top priority for the FBI. We will stop at nothing when investigating these heinous crimes.”

In August 2021, Punahou School and former students who sued the school and Yuen during his time as girls basketball coach alleging sexual assault and abuse settled out of court. Yuen had left Punahou in 2006.

The former students, three named women who were underage student athletes in the mid-2000s and two anonymous victims, accused Yuen of grooming and abusing them.

The settlement amount was never disclosed, but the statement from Punahou at the time included an apology from the school.

In a May 24 letter from attorneys for Punahou to Hawaii Association of Independent Schools members, the school noted that the allegations against Yuen made by their former students are “graphic, specific, and extraordinarily troubling.”

“They include detailed references to repeated sexual assault, physical injuries, threats of bodily harm, and intimidation. Similar allegations were made by other female plaintiffs in related cases,” reads the letter addressed to Philip J. Bossert, HAIS executive director, from attorneys Terence J. O’Toole and Maile S. Miller.

Despite the allegations being settled out of court, “the fact that Yuen is currently involved in a coaching/ mentoring role in female high school athletics is a matter of great concern to Punahou.”

“Punahou has already taken steps to advise its staff and the parents of students who are participating in high school basketball that Yuen may pose a risk and that the parents must carefully consider whether to allow their daughters to participate in the City High Program,” the letter reads. “Hopefully, this information will help inform you in advising your staff and students.”

News of Yuen’s arrest was met with celebration from his victims.

Ilima-Lei Macfarlane, a Punahou graduate and five-time Bellator Mixed-Martial Arts Flyweight Champion, posted a message on her Instagram feed with a link to a news article about Yuen’s arrest thanking all of the victims who came forward.

“I cried today (still crying) when the FBI called to tell me the news. I’ve been laying low the last few months even though it killed me to see this mother—— still coaching minors, but I held back from publicly calling out everyone because our investigation was still underway,” she wrote Thursday. “It’s been the longest process, but the day has come and the wait is finally OVER.”

Crystal Glendon and Kelli Ponce, attorneys for Shawna-Lei Kuehu, a Punahou and University of Hawaii basketball star who was also a victim of Yuen’s in high school, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser their client and team are “elated” at the news that “Dwayne Yuen’s misdeeds have finally caught up to him” and that he is being prosecuted for his “heinous actions against yet another young woman.”

“While the State statute of limitations had expired for our client when her lawsuit was filed, we hoped that one day Yuen would face criminal prosecution. Today is that day. He continued to manipulate and prey upon young women and do it with the arrogance of someone who thought he’d never get caught,” said Glendon and Ponce in a statement. “We want to thank the young woman who bravely came forward and reported what he did to her. And we want to thank the FBI for believing her and investigating this case. A man like Dwayne Yuen needed to be stopped so the young girls and women of our community can go about their lives, play basketball and not fear that a sexual predator is on the loose.”

Yuen started his teaching career when the state Department of Education hired him as an educational assistant on an 89-day contract from August to October 2005 at Kalani High School, according to state records.

He was a senior assistant boys basketball coach from 2011 through the 2013 school year at Moanalua High School. Yuen was a teacher at Momilani Elementary School from January 2007 until he resigned on Feb. 13, 2018.

On Jan. 28, 2018, the DOE sent Yuen a letter informing him he was on department-directed leave while the department conducted a “suitability analysis” in connection with the allegations made by Macfarlane and Kuehu.

The DOE’s Civil Rights Compliance Branch did not receive any complaints about Yuen connected to his time in the public school system.

The FBI is asking anyone who believes they were victimized by Yuen to call 808-673-2719, email yuen investigation@fbi.gov or visit www.fbi.gov/yueninvestigation. The website includes a questionnaire and contact information.