Former Honolulu Police Officer indicted for alleged child sex trafficking

A former Honolulu Police officer was arrested and indicted for alleged child sex trafficking and other offenses on Thursday.

Mason Jordan, 31, was arrested in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on charges that include: sexual exploitation of a child, coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in prostitution, sex trafficking of a child, and cyberstalking.

He appeared in federal court, where he faces an eight-count indictment returned by a Honolulu federal grand jury on May 26, 2022. The indictment was unsealed after his arrest, according to the Department of Justice.

“According to the indictment and information presented to the court, Jordan—while an officer of the Honolulu Police Department—took sexually explicit photographs of a child in 2017 and used a hidden camera to record sexually explicit videos of that same child on two occasions in 2016,” according to information provided by the US Attorney’s Office, District of Hawaiʻi.

The USAHI reports that, “Jordan is also alleged to have impersonated that child, using social media, to recruit other local children to work for him as underage prostitutes in 2020. Jordan allegedly met up with some of those children for commercial sex acts in 2020. Jordan also allegedly ‘sextorted’ a woman he encountered in connection with his duties as a police officer, using underage photographs he obtained of that woman.”

If convicted of the charges, Jordan faces: a mandatory minimum term of 15 years in prison and up to 30 years on three counts of sexual exploitation; a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life on two counts of coercion and enticement, and two counts of sex trafficking; and up to five years in prison for cyberstalking.

The department notes that an indictment is merely an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

“The sexual exploitation of children is among the most reprehensible crimes we prosecute and deservedly carries severe criminal penalties,” said Clare E. Connors, US Attorney for the District of Hawaiʻi in a department press release. “When, as here, the perpetrator is a law enforcement officer sworn to protect the community’s most vulnerable members, including our children, the crime is that much more egregious.”

“Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is committed to protecting our keiki by investigating those who intend to do them harm,” said Special Agent in Charge John F. Tobon. “As a former Honolulu Police Officer, Mr. Jordan is well aware of the seriousness of the charges he faces. We look forward to the legal process playing out in court. If anyone has any additional information related to this case, we ask they call us at 808-532-3753.”

The case was the result of a joint investigation by Homeland Security Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of the Honolulu Police Department. Assistant US Attorneys Wayne A. Myers and Christine Olson are handling the prosecution.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.