The father of a sex assault victim described the conviction Wednesday of his daughter’s assailant, a state Department of Land and Natural Resources enforcement officer, as “no win, everybody lost.”
The father of a sex assault victim described the conviction Wednesday of his daughter’s assailant, a state Department of Land and Natural Resources enforcement officer, as “no win, everybody lost.”
A Hilo Circuit Court jury of seven men and five women took less than three hours to convict 40-year-old Ethan Ferguson of two counts of second-degree sexual assault and three counts of fourth-degree sexual assault for the Jan. 1, 2016, assault at Lalakea Beach Park in Keaukaha.
Ferguson, who remains free on $13,000 bail, faces a potential 10-year term of imprisonment when he is sentenced at 8 a.m. April 24 by Judge Greg Nakamura. Ferguson emotionally hugged his wife and mother, while the victim’s family left the courtroom quickly after the verdict was read.
“There were things taken away from us that we’ll never get back as a family,” the teen’s father said. “He should have just said, ‘I did something wrong. I screwed up.’ He dragged my daughter through this process, which was wrong on his part. … I feel sorry for his wife, his kids and his mom.”
The father said he thinks his daughter, now 17, “can actually start doing some healing.”
“She would always get angry and upset, and that’s how it’s been for the last year. And only now, today, I actually get a genuine hug from my child after this case,” the man said.
Deputy Prosecutor Haaheo Kahoohalahala said she’s “pleased with the jury’s verdict” and said she thought the victim “was totally credible.”
“I don’t think the defendant’s story made any sense at all; I didn’t find him credible,” Kahoohalahala said.
Ferguson’s attorney, Mirtha Oliveros, said the jury came to “the wrong verdict.”
“There just wasn’t the evidence to prove the verdict,” Oliveros said.
The girl testified Ferguson, who was on duty and in uniform, took a pipe containing marijuana from her, led her to a secluded area at one end of the park and gave her the options of “money, drugs or sex” to not arrest her. She said Ferguson pinned her down with his body, pulled up her tank top and bikini top, and forced sex acts on her.
“I thought he was going to take me in for smoking at the beach,” the victim, crying, told jurors.
Ferguson testified he was at the beach responding to a report of turtle harassment and “gave some education” to the teen, although he did not see her harassing a turtle. He said the girl gave him a phony name and didn’t produce ID when asked. He said after he warned the teen she kissed him on the lips, thanked him for not arresting her and kissed him again. Ferguson said he “kissed her back” the second time.
“That was inappropriate,” he told the jury.
He said when the girl rubbed his head and put her hands on his waist, he left.
“My hat goes off to the victim in this case to have the courage in this case, to stand up and tell her story and to take the abuse that she took on the stand. It’s very emotional. It’s very difficult,” said Hawaii County Prosecutor Mitch Roth, who thanked the teen, his team and police for seeing the case through.
“I want to thank the jury for sitting through the story he put up there, which I think was a pretty incredible story in itself,” he added.
Deputy Prosecutor Michelle West said the type of case presented by the defense — which is standard in sex assault trials — intimidates victims and makes prosecuting sexual assault difficult.
“Calling him the hero, saying this wasn’t a violent rape, there was no blood, there was no torn clothing — these are all myths (about sex assault),” West said. “(Oliveros) did everything she could to perpetuate these myths, to attack the victim and put the victim on trial.”
Ferguson was fired for misconduct in 2012 after almost 12 years as a Honolulu Police Department officer, reportedly for falsifying records and lying to investigators about transporting a juvenile female runaway. He was hired as a DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement officer in 2013.
The state agency stripped Ferguson of his police powers and put him on paid administrative leave after he was charged with the offenses. According to a written statement, DLNR “has not received the record of conviction for Ethan Ferguson. At such time this record is received and reviewed, a decision will be made on Mr. Ferguson’s job status.”
Ferguson is the son of Jackie Ferguson-Miyamoto, president of the Hawaii Government Employees Association, the union representing DOCARE officers. The DLNR statement said Ferguson’s mother “had nothing to do with his hiring as a Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) officer and we have no record of her being listed as a reference.”
“DOCARE has implemented changes to its vetting process for all new hires. This includes extensive background and reference checks, additional evaluation and training for both officers and supervisors, and closer monitoring by supervisors,” the statement concluded.
Nakamura denied a prosecution request to revoke Ferguson’s bail as a flight risk and take him into custody. Roth said his office will submit a written motion and added Ferguson’s conduct “gives law enforcement a black eye.”
“The damage done, the sexual assault was unconscionable and unthinkable,” he said. “We’re very concerned when anybody does something like this, but when law enforcement does it, it’s really bad.”
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.