Maui Police Arrest Seven as part of “Operation Keiki Shield”

Seven men were arrested on Maui during the “Operation Keiki Shield 7” law enforcement operation carried out between Friday, March 12 and Sunday March 14.

Police say the Operation is 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.”

Those arrested ranged in age from 23 to 71 and all involved charges of first degree Electronic Enticement of a Child.

Police say the offenders were arrested and charged “after soliciting what they believed to be underage people for sex and then taking substantial steps to meet up with those ‘minors’ for the purpose of engaging in criminal sexual acts with them; however, instead of minors, these offenders were actually met and arrested by law enforcement officers.”

The list of people arrested and the charges they face include:

• Finehafo’ou Hafoka, 26, of Kahului: first degree electronic enticement of a child and promoting pornography for minors.
• Edward Hsu, 49, of Kīhei: first degree electronic enticement of a child and indecent electronic display to a child.
• Joshua Irvine, 35, of Wailuku: first degree electronic enticement of a child and indecent electronic display to a child.
• Bruce Mann, 71, of Wailuku: first degree electronic enticement of a child and indecent electronic display to a child.
• Jerome Ulep, 34, of Kahului: first degree electronic enticement of a child and indecent electronic display to a child.
• Abdila Oluwatimilehin, 23, of Kīhei: first degree electronic enticement of a child.
• Ryan Kiefer-Fu, 28, of Pinole, CA: first degree electronic enticement of a child.

Bail was set at $150,000 for each of those arrested. 

All cases have been referred to the County of Maui, Department of the Prosecuting Attorney for review.

The Maui Police Department Criminal Investigation and Juvenile Crime Prevention Divisions are actively investigating additional criminal offenses as a direct result of this operation.

Due to the efforts of investigators participating in this operation, a previously unknown child victim of past sexual offenses was identified.   Maui Police Department investigators are working to locate this victim and get social and mental health services to this individual.

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 7 was hosted by the Maui Police Department and included officers and agents from the Maui Police Department, the Department of the Attorney General, ICAC Taskforce, the Honolulu Police Department, the United States Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations Honolulu, the United States Secret Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

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

“The Maui Police Department and our law enforcement partners in the ICAC Taskforce are vigorously pursuing these online predators and will continue to do so for the safety of our children.  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,” police said.