Isle woman’s conviction overturned in case of child abuse on plane
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARADVERTISER.COM
Samantha Leialoha Watanabe walks outside of federal court in Honolulu on May 22, 2015. U.S. District Court Judge Leslie Kobayashi today overturned the conviction and ordered a new trial for Watanabe, found guilty of assaulting her 15-month-old daughter on a flight from Alaska in May, 2015.
A federal judge has overturned the conviction of a Hawaii mother found guilty of assaulting her 15-month-old daughter on a flight from Alaska.
U.S. District Court Judge Leslie Kobayashi’s ruling today orders a new trial for Samantha Watanabe. A jury convicted her of assault in 2015.
Prosecutors said she cursed at her daughter, smacked her in the head, hit her in the face with a stuffed doll and yanked out tufts of her hair.
>> Lawyer: Mom accused of assaulting tot on Hawaii flight did nothing wrong
>> Mom sentenced for assaulting toddler on Hawaii flight
>> Defense to appeal guilty verdict of Hawaii mom who assaulted child on plane
Defense attorneys argued the allegations were fabricated by judgmental passengers who didn’t like how Watanabe looked and dressed her child.
Kobayashi’s ruled that the magistrate judge abused his discretion by allowing prosecutors to present lay opinion testimony about what constitutes proper parental discipline.
Watanabe was sentenced to a month in jail and three months’ home confinement.
11 responses to “Isle woman’s conviction overturned in case of child abuse on plane”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
sometimes it is hard to unearth the full truth but it still does not look good for the mother. So sorry for the child.
So, if she “cursed at her (15 month-old) daughter, smacked her in the head, hit her in the face with a stuffed doll and yanked out tufts of her hair” isn’t considered assault, what is, Judge Kobayashi? I bet if I did that to an adult I would be charged with assault.
she does look to be a Trump supporter
I believe that if the tufts of hair were presented as evidence and a DNA screening matched the hair to the victim, this case wouldn’t even be presented at the Federal level considering that the girl was only 15 months old at the time. The cursing, smacking and hitting with the doll are all abusive to the victim, but the level of abuse cannot be as measured as the extraction of hair from the victim’s scalp. If the evidence of hair was a significant amount, that evidence could not be “fabricated” by judgmental witnesses.
Oh mama
This is nucking futs!
Hey, it’s cultural. Lay off. This is how things are down in Hawai`i nei!
I hope you do not think child abuse is acceptable in Hawaii!
When I was a student at Saint Anthony Kalihi back in the 70’s the nuns beat the tar out me. They made me eat powdered borax for using the F word. I always look back on it as something I needed. Leave the mom alone, because nobody else is going to take responsibility if the kid turns out to be a tyrant.
Those nuns should have been in jail! No child NEEDS to be assaulted!
The tufts hair of the child certainly is very concerning, yet if witnesses statements were exaggerated than the issue is moot. Would rather err in favor of child than parent.