Kamehameha Schools settles lawsuit involving teacher for $5M
HONOLULU (AP) — Kamehameha Schools has agreed to pay $5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by families of four former students whose teacher is accused of secretly recording them showering in his faculty apartment.
The lawsuit claims officials at the private school for students of Hawaiian ancestry should have known about the actions of teacher Gabriel Alisna and taken steps to prevent them but didn’t. It also faults school officials for their handling of the matter after discovering it.
“Together we agreed resolution was the right thing to do, and we remain committed to seeing Alisna held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” Kamehameha Schools Chief Executive Officer Jack Wong said.
Michael Green, a lawyer who represents the families of the four students, said attorneys for Kamehameha Schools did not ask him to keep the settlement confidential.
“I truly believe the trustees want this to be a message that they will do whatever they believe is proper for the kids,” Green said. “And I think they’re taking steps to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
Alisna has been awaiting trial on felony violation of privacy charges involving three of the students and misdemeanor sexual assault charges involving one student.
The former speech teacher and debate team coach has pleaded not guilty. According to court documents, one of Alisna’s former students, who had graduated and was staying with him, discovered the shower videos on a hard drive and reported the discovery to a Kamehameha Schools faculty or staff member in 2012. The employee reported what the former student said on the trust’s anonymous online reporting system on March 2, 2013.
Lifeguards rescue 450 during Oahu ocean party
HONOLULU (AP) — Lifeguards made about 450 rescues, but no one was hospitalized following the Fourth of July “floatilla” ocean party off Honolulu’s Waikiki Beach, authorities said.
The celebration was “tame” compared to the last two years, state Department of Land and Natural Resources officials said. The event had about 600 participants, drastically smaller than the estimated crowd of about 10,000 last year.
“As you know, in the past we’ve had serious situations and some people getting so wasted they couldn’t even swim,” Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell said at a news conference Tuesday.
Honolulu and state officials had pleaded for participants to be safe and responsible after hundreds were rescued and 10 people were hospitalized for alcohol-related injuries last year.
“It’s hard to see people, there’s a lot of floaties, there’s a lot of people in the water, and all it takes is for somebody to be floating face down for a while,” Caldwell said.
Honolulu police, the Coast Guard and the Department of Land and Natural Resources partnered this year to crack down on bad behavior and avoid repeating the events of last year.
