Operation Keiki Shield nets arrest of four on Maui

Maui police arrested four individuals for charges related to internet-facilitated sexual offenses against children during Operation Keiki Shield 22, which took place between Thursday March 14, and Sunday, March 17, 2024.

The four offenders were arrested and charged after soliciting what they believed to be children for sex and then taking “substantial steps” to meet up with those “minors” for the purpose of engaging in criminal sexual acts with them, according to a police news release. However, instead of minors, these offenders were actually met and were arrested by law enforcement officers.

As a result of this operation Maui police arrested:

• Karon Macon, 30, of Kīhei was arrested on March 15, 2024 and was charged with first degree electronic enticement of a child (HRS § 707-756).
• Eugene Cadano, 21, of Kīhei was arrested on March 17, 2024 and was charged with first degree electronic enticement of a child (HRS § 707-756).
• Anthony Perry, 44, of Hāna was arrested on March 17, 2024 and was charged with first degree electronic enticement of a child (HRS § 707-756) and promoting pornography for minors (HRS § 712-1215).
• Jake Mori, 18, of Kahului was arrested on March 17, 2024 and was charged with commercial sexual exploitation of a minor (HRS § 712-1209.1)

All four individuals were held in lieu of $100,000 bail each.

All cases are being referred to the County of Maui, Department of the Prosecuting Attorney for review, with additional referrals of some cases made to federal law enforcement agencies for review of violations of federal law.

Additional violations of multiple Hawaiʻi statutes by other suspects identified during this operation remain under investigation.

Law enforcement officers from around the state conducted the operation in an ongoing effort to identify, locate and arrest offenders who commit Internet-facilitated sexual crimes against children, and to identify and rescue child victims of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

The operation is under the overall blanket of the State of Hawaiʻi Department of the Attorney General, Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce, and includes officers and agents from local, state and federal law enforcement.  

Operation Keiki Shield 22 was hosted by the Maui Police Department and included officers, investigators, and agents from the Maui Police Department, the Department of the Attorney General, the ICAC Taskforce, the Honolulu Police Department, the Kauaʻi Police Department, the Hawaiʻi County Police Department, Hawaiʻi County Prosecutor’s Office, the United States Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, and the US Secret Service.

Since the first iteration of Operation Keiki Shield on Maui in March of 2020, 39 suspects have been arrested as part of these ongoing investigations on Maui, and over 100 suspects have been arrested throughout the state of Hawaiʻi.

“The online sexual exploitation of young children and teenagers alike in our community is happening and is a real threat,” police said in a news release. “The offenders come from all different walks of life and all different backgrounds. The only commonality is the lasting emotional and physical damage they cause our children.”

The Maui Police Department and law enforcement partners in the ICAC Taskforce continue to pursue these online predators. Police passed along the following message: “In that context, we have a message for you, if you are sexually exploiting the children in our communities, we will find you, we will arrest you, and we will prosecute you to the fullest extent possible.”