A former Moanalua High School girls wrestling coach facing federal criminal charges for sexually exploiting an underage girl was reported to the Honolulu Police Department in 2012 after he allegedly kissed a 13-year-old Roosevelt High School student.
In 2012, HPD received a complaint from the parent of a Roosevelt High School student about Sean S. Sakaida, the then-30 year-old coach of the wrestling team. The parent reported that she believed that Sakaida had kissed her 13-year-old daughter.
“Based on the information available to officers at the time of reporting, a criminal element could not be substantiated, and the incident was documented for record purposes,” HPD told the Honolulu Star- Advertiser in a statement.
HPD received no other complaints about Sakaida, 44, who was 30 when the Roosevelt High School girl’s parent went to police.
Sakaida, a father of three, was charged Sept. 23 with receipt and possession of child pornography in connection with about 18 nude images he hid on his devices and cloud storage accounts. The photos are from an alleged sexual relationship he maintained with an underage girl he coached for four years at Moanalua High School.
Sakaida also allegedly filmed himself having sex with a 17-year-old victim, according to federal court documents.
Sakaida was ordered held without bail until trial on Wednesday by U.S. Magistrate Judge Wes Reber Porter. Sakaida had asked Reber Porter to release him on conditions before trial.
Sakaida “rebutted the presumption of detention with evidence that he has significant ties to both his family and the community, that he has a stable residence, that he has active employment, that he has no criminal history, and that he does not suffer from alcohol or drug abuse,” according to a motion filed Tuesday by his attorney, Caroline M. Elliot.
Sakaida worked as a wrestling and judo coach at Roosevelt High School between 2001 and 2013. He resigned from Roosevelt after he was accused of kissing a 13-year-old female wrestler.
“Because the employee resigned, the Department is limited in what it can share regarding confidential personnel matters,” state Department of Education officials said.
He was hired that same year to serve as a wrestling coach at Moanalua High School from the 2013-14 through 2024-25 school years.
The DOE told the Star- Advertiser that the allegations against Sakaida received last year by Moanalua High School athletic director Joel Kawachi and school officials did not meet mandatory reporting laws.
The allegations reported to the DOE and investigated at the time “did not include allegations of sexual assault,” DOE officials told the Star-Advertiser.
“The Department did not have the same information or level of detail subsequently described in the federal complaint. The Department investigated the allegations that were reported and, following the investigation, terminated Sakaida’s employment,” DOE officials said.
Moanalua High School school officials received allegations about Sakaida on Nov. 19, 2025. Sakaida was temporarily blocked from coaching statewide on Nov. 25, 2025, prior to the allegations outlined in the federal complaint.
“As part of its Nov. 25 notice, the Department advised Sakaida not to discuss the matter with coworkers, students or families to preserve the integrity of the investigation. The Department again in Jan. 2026 directed Sakaida to cease any and all communications with students,” DOE officials said in a statement.
Following the investigation, Sakaida was fired Aug. 3.
The FBI believes Sakaida targeted female wrestlers who were minors between 2012-2026. The FBI is asking anyone who was “victimized by Sean Sakaida or have information relevant to this investigation,” to fill out a form at forms.fbi.gov/victims/SakaidaVictims/view.
