Two Hawaii men were arrested as part of a nationwide effort to rescue child sex victims and put pedophiles behind bars, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The “coordinated enforcement effort to identify, track and arrest child sex predators” resulted in the arrest of Dominick Kalikokaeoeo Howard, 20, who was charged with distributing child pornography, and David Martin Garcia Perez, 33, who was charged with receiving and possessing or accessing child pornography.
Both were charged by federal criminal complaint — Howard on April 28 and Perez on April 29.
All 55 field offices of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, backed by U.S. Attorneys, participated in Operation Restore Justice that federal officials said rescued 115 children and resulted in the arrests of 205 alleged child sexual abuse offenders, according to a news release.
The operation occurred over the course of five days.
“Our pledge to protect Hawaii’s keiki is among the most solemn and critical commitments we make to our local community,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kenneth M. Sorenson, in a statement. “Working with our outstanding law enforcement partners we have consistently and aggressively pursued child predators and those who seek to exploit children either for profit or their own twisted gratification. Our efforts in Operation Restore Justice, including last week’s arrests, demonstrate the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s commitment to investigate, charge, and convict those who violate federal child protection laws.”
According to federal court records, Nov. 28, 2024, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a tip from Kik/MediaLab, a social media platform that allows users to communicate and exchange digital files with other users.
The data showed that Howard allegedly shared a video of a 3- to 4-year-old boy being raped by an adult male. Howard allegedly created three separate Kik accounts and dealt in child pornography involving young boys. The footage allegedly traded by Howard on his devices included young boys having sex, and two men raping a minor boy.
Howard allegedly told FBI agents on March 21 that he did have Kik accounts and did send videos “in the heat of the moment,” according to federal court records.
“I just pick a whole bunch of videos that I want to send and send it,” Howard allegedly told the agents.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Wes Reber Porter denied the government’s motion to detain Howard without bail until trial, releasing him on a $50,000 unsecured bond to a third party custodian.
Howard is banned from being around kids, accessing the internet and his travel is restricted to Oahu and will be monitored with a GPS device.
“The FBI is unwavering and united with its partners in the fight to protect children,” said FBI Honolulu Special Agent in Charge David Porter, in a statement. “Our collaboration with state and local law enforcement allows us to extend our reach into communities, respond faster to threats, and ensure survivors get the support they need. FBI Honolulu will continue to conduct proactive arrest operations targeting those seeking to harm our children—we’ll work to get these predators off the streets and keep our kids safe.”
Perez was sentenced on May 11, 2022, in the Western District of Texas for possession of child pornography to time served and a life term of supervised release.
According to the U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services Office for the district in Hawaii, on March 20 Perez’s probation officer got a text message from Perez’s transitional home director about finding a phone in Perez’s room. Perez allegedly told the house director he had been using it to watch child pornography over the course of a year, and later admitted it to his probation officer.
“The Probation Officer asked Perez if he had viewed child pornography with real children, AI- generated child pornography, or anime that depicted child pornography, and Perez replied that he had viewed all three types,” according to an affidavit authored by an FBI agent.
Perez said he got the phone from a former housemate and the child pornography from the dark web. The dark web is a set of web pages that cannot be indexed by “search engines, are not viewable in a standard Web browser, require specific means (such as specialized software or network configuration) in order to access,” and use encryption to provide anonymity and privacy for users, according to Merriam-Webster.
Perez allegedly had files on his phone of young girls being raped.
He made his initial appearance May 1 and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing May 15. Perez is in custody at the Federal Detention Center, Honolulu.
Nationwide, people were arrested on suspicion of various. crimes including the production, distribution and possession of child sexual abuse material, online enticement and transportation of minors, and child sex trafficking.
In Minneapolis, a state trooper and Army Reservist was arrested for allegedly producing child sexual abuse material while wearing his uniforms, according to the justice department.
In Norfolk, Va., an illegal immigrant from Mexico is accused of transporting a minor across state lines for sex. In Washington, D.C., a former Metropolitan Police Department officer was arrested for allegedly trafficking minor victims.
Who to call
>> To report tips about possible child sexual exploitation received use the 24/7 hotline at 1- 800-THE-LOST and on missingkids.org.
>> Report suspected exploitation of a child through the FBI’s tipline at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324), tips.fbi.gov, or by calling your local FBI field office.
