Three former foster children, now adults, of George Kipapa and his late wife, Jolyn Kipapa, agreed to a $1.8 million settlement in a lawsuit alleging abuses they suffered as foster children over 18 years.
The Legislature on May 3 approved the settlement amount against the state and its Department of Human Services, and Kipapa, who, along with his wife, was licensed by the state to accept foster children at their Waimanalo home.
The lawsuit filed April 22, 2020, in Circuit Court was brought by C.K., a woman now living in Tacoma, Wash., and Oahu residents J.M. and T.M., who said they were subjected to such graphic sexual abuse they did not want to be identified in the suit.
The three were minor foster children between 1996 and 2014 under the protection of the state and involuntarily placed in the home of foster parents George and Jolyn Kipapa, who was killed in 2014 at age 52 by an adopted son.
The complaint alleged that during that time, the state transferred from another foster home a known sexual abuser, Michael Silva — who was also named in a 2023 third-party complaint by the state as Michael Kipapa — into the Kipapa’s Waimanalo household as a foster child.
The 2020 lawsuit alleged that the children were subjected to sexual abuse as a result of the negligent, reckless, willful, wanton, malicious acts or omissions by George Kipapa, the state Department of Human Services and other unnamed defendants. According to the complaint, the three children were in the Kipapas’ foster home and subjected to severe and continuous sexual and physical abuse by Michael Kipapa and others with the knowledge and encouragement of George Kipapa.
It also alleged, “At the direction and/or with the acquiescence of Defendant George Kipapa, physical beatings, starvation, theft and destruction of personal property, and failure to provide medical care, clothing and medicine often accompanied the sexual abuse.” George Kipapa also allegedly kept the children home from school to hide evidence of the abuse, according to the lawsuit.
Some of the actions by Michael Kipapa and George Kipapa are criminal offenses, the plaintiffs contend, but no criminal complaint was filed against them.
When C.K. reported the abuse to Wendall Omura, a DHS social worker assigned to the plaintiffs, he accused C.K. of lying, the lawsuit alleged.
Omura also had developed a social relationship with George and Jolyn Kipapa, and allegedly funneled more foster children to the couple to increase their monthly stipend, the plaintiffs alleged. They also alleged that Omura was also aware that J.M. and T.M. had reported physical and sexual abuse to the court- appointed psychologist, but failed to investigate the reports or remove them from the Kipapa household.
Omura did not return calls and texts from the Honolulu Star-Advertiser seeking a response to the allegations.
C.K. requested a new social worker years later and informed the new social worker of the abuse, and was removed from the Kipapa home, according to the lawsuit.
The state and its employees had a duty to keep the children safe and to prevent further harm. Instead they placed a known sexual abuser in the home, the lawsuit says.
The 2020 complaint alleged that George and Jolyn Kipapa knew about the sexual abuse inflicted on the children by Michael Kipapa and encouraged it, and that the Kipapas were also abusive to the children.
As part of the settlement between George Kipapa and the plaintiffs, a stipulation filed April 22, 2020, dismissed claims against him, with prejudice, so the plaintiffs cannot raise the claims again. He filed an answer denying the claims alleged against him.
The terms of the settlement are confidential, plaintiffs’ attorney Randall Rosenberg said. But because the Legislature must approve any settlement on behalf of the state, the $1.8 million award by the state had to be disclosed.
Neither Michael Kipapa, who lives in Beaverton, Ore., nor George Kipapa’s attorney have responded to the Star-Advertiser’s calls for comment.
On June 26 the state and DHS filed a third-party complaint against Michael Kipapa, who turned 18 in 2004. They alleged that since he was an adult from 2004 or thereafter, he should be liable for those injuries and damages if plaintiffs prove they sustained injuries from sexual abuse perpetrated by him for his relative degree of fault.
Rosenberg said complaints were made at different times by various siblings, and the state was aware of complaints made by the female victim, but no criminal complaint was filed.
He said the same lack of response has been happening in other cases, with social workers receiving complaints from children in foster care and sometimes adoption. The social workers might not act on it “based on a relationship with the foster parents that they deem to be more important. Sometimes they don’t think the children are trustworthy,” Rosenberg said.
In the Kipapa case the social worker retired, he said.
“We’ve had children be murdered, tortured, sexually abused and physically abused, and it’s happening constantly,” Rosenberg said. “We’re going to start naming individual social workers,” he said. “Maybe they will think twice about not paying attention, so that something could be done. I don’t know what else I can do. Social workers have not changed their behavior.”
In response, DHS officials told the Star-Advertiser in a written statement: “Mr. Rosenberg’s comments do not reflect the hard work and commitment to children of the staff of the Department of Human Services Child Welfare Services’ Branch.
“CWS workers do their best to protect and serve children and families and strive to facilitate children’s growth and development, in a loving and safe family. More than half of the children that CWS works with remain with their families or are returned to their families after their caretakers complete supportive services. We understand that those stories of safety and stability are not often told, but they remain the vast majority of CWS cases.
“DHS shares the heartbreak and horror of the community at recent cases where children are alleged to have been killed by their caretakers. We continue to ask the community to report any suspicions of abuse or neglect to the CWS hotline.”
Jolyn Kipapa was killed July 5, 2014.
Her adoptive son, Kaanoi Kipapa, pleaded guilty to manslaughter. The state acknowledged he was suffering from extreme mental disturbance when he committed the crime. He was not part of the abuse lawsuit that the state settled.
When he was 16 years old in 2019, he was sentenced to eight years for killing his adoptive mother under a provision that allows for lower penalties for defendants 21 years old or younger.
Judge Todd Eddins said at his sentencing that when the state agreed to the plea deal, it acknowledged the letters, records and reports from psychiatrists, family members and other children fostered and adopted by the Kipapas. The submissions indicated Kaanoi Kipapa had been abused for years by his adoptive mother and by his mother’s biological children at her direction.
After Kaanoi Kipapa called 911 to report he had stabbed his mother, he resumed the attack. Kipapa, now 26, has been paroled.
The two-story Waimanalo house at Hunananiho, also known as Waimanalo Bay Beach Park and Sherwoods, where the fatal stabbing happened and where the family lived, burned down Feb. 4, 2016.
George Kipapa was the park’s caretaker. Kaanoi Kipapa was in custody at the time of the fire.
Police opened an arson investigation. Fire investigators found a gasoline can near the home at 41-1055 Kalanianaole Highway. Police said Tuesday no arrests have been made in the first-degree arson case. Tipsters can call police or CrimeStoppers at 808-955-8300.
HOW TO REPORT CHILD ABUSE
>> Child Abuse or Neglect Reporting Hotline: 808-832-5300 or (toll-free) 888-380-3088
>> Child Trafficking Reporting Hotline: 808-832-1999 or (toll-free) 888-398-1188
