Shark expert to keep state job after incarceration

HONOLULU (AP) — A prominent Hawaii shark expert incarcerated for child pornography charges will return to his state job when his sentence is finished.

Randy Honebrink will retain his title as aquatic resource information and education coordinator when he completes his sentence next month, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources said. Honebrink is using vacation time to serve his sentence, the department said.

Honebrink, often interviewed by the media when there’s a shark attack, was sentenced to two months of incarceration and five years of supervised release. He pleaded guilty in federal court to downloading sexually explicit photographs of two boys ages 12 and 14. He was caught in an international sting that resulted in nearly 350 arrests.

During his sentencing in September, U.S. District Judge Leslie Kobayashi noted Honebrink is voluntarily receiving counseling.

Honebrink’s conviction can’t keep him from keeping his job, labor rights lawyer David Simons said.

“So people can come back and get rehabilitated unless there is a rational basis,” he said. “If you are a child pornographer you’re not going to go back and teach kindergarten … but the fact that you’ve had a conviction in your background doesn’t mean you can ever get a job again.”

Honebrink apologized at his sentencing.