HONOLULU — An inmate’s lawsuit against the state of Hawaii says officials didn’t protect her against a guard who has been a fugitive since he was indicted in 2014 for allegedly raping her.
The woman was in a work furlough program in 2014 that allowed her to leave the Maui Community Correctional Center during the day. Former corrections officer, James Siugpiyemal, threatened to remove her from the program if she didn’t comply with his demands for sex, her lawsuit said.
He was indicted in October 2014 after her attorney turned over to Maui police footage from a hidden camera that captured the guard raping her in her car. Around the time of the indictment, Siugpiyemal resigned from the state Department of Public Safety, said department spokeswoman Toni Schwartz, who declined to comment on behalf of the state on pending litigation.
Maui prosecutors obtained a warrant for Siugpiyemal’s arrest, and U.S. marshals have been trying to find him since then.
The woman is pursuing civil action by filing the lawsuit in federal court earlier this week because the statute of limitations is running out, said her attorney Myles Breiner. The Associated Press doesn’t usually identify those who say they are victims of sexual assault.
The woman gave into Siugpiyemal’s demands because she was afraid of losing her furlough for a theft conviction, Breiner said. She kept DNA evidence after having oral sex with him, the lawsuit said.
“In fear and desperation, she finally agreed to meet him again, but unbeknownst to him, she had a hidden camera in her car,” the lawsuit said. “That camera caught the entire episode of (her) rape — in graphic detail.”
The woman contacted Breiner, who reported the assault and gave police the video and DNA evidence. Her lawsuit claims that instead of properly investigating the allegations, the state informed Siugpiyemal, who made good on his threat to revoke her furlough.
The lawsuit alleges Siugpiyemal and another guard altered a urine sample that led to the woman losing her furlough status. She’s now being held at the Honolulu Federal Detention Center for safety reasons, Schwartz said.
Breiner believes someone tipped off Siugpiyemal about the indictment, giving him time to flee Hawaii. The Associated Press wasn’t able to reach any possible relatives Friday.
“Hawaii has done nothing to bring him back,” Breiner said, “because the victim in this case is an inmate.”
