A tearful Jaylin Kema apologized to her family and community Tuesday, and a judge, despite expressed misgivings, sentenced her to 10 years probation for her role in the 1997 death of her son, Peter Kema Jr.
A tearful Jaylin Kema apologized to her family and community Tuesday, and a judge, despite expressed misgivings, sentenced her to 10 years probation for her role in the 1997 death of her son, Peter Kema Jr.
Acting Hilo Circuit Judge Henry Nakamoto also sentenced the 47-year-old woman to a year in jail, time she already served on the manslaughter charge, for the death by septic shock of the chronically abused child known as “Peter Boy.”
In addition, Kema was ordered to make $16,687 in restitution in a separate theft case for illegally receiving public assistance.
Kema, who lost part of her left leg to diabetes, has appeared at some hearings in a wheelchair. On Tuesday, she was fitted with a prosthesis and walked in and out of the courtroom accompanied by a service dog. Kema agreed to testify against her husband, Peter Kema Sr., if his case went to trial. She told the judge she knows she deserved imprisonment for failing to seek medical help for her son, who was 6 when he died, and for not coming forward with the truth.
“For far too long, I’ve kept a secret of the abuse of my children, especially Peter Boy, and I kept the secret of how he died. I thank the prosecutor and the police for giving me the chance to tell the truth. My own problems in my everyday life is difficult, but nothing … compared to the pain that Peter Boy endured while I did nothing,” Jaylin Kema said, emotionally.
Apologizing to her children, Allan, Chauntelle and Lina Acol, none of whom were present, Kema acknowledged she caused them “to live in a nightmare” and “denied them a healthy childhood.”
She also apologized to her father, James Acol, and her late mother, Yolanda Acol, and thanked them “for all you have done for my children.”
“Nothing I can say can express how sad I am that I have done this to all of you,” she said. “I’ve lied to myself and all of you who took care of my children when I did not. I do miss you and I love you, each and every one of you.”
Deputy Prosecutor Rick Damerville told the judge Peter Boy’s siblings “have mixed emotions about their mother.”
“They’re not saying that their mother is the source of the abuse that they suffered. But it’s just inconceivable to them how she couldn’t have spoken up earlier,” Damerville said. The prosecutor said he hoped for “some sort of reunification” between Kema and her children in the future.
Describing Kema as having “virtually no job skills” and “significant health problems,” Damerville recommended payments on her court-ordered restitution be postponed for a year “because she’s in transitional housing. She basically has no funds.”
Kema’s attorney, Brian De Lima, said many in the community will conclude his client’s plea deal “was too lenient.”
“Perhaps. But the reality is that Jaylin Kema has been and will remain emotionally imprisoned by the choice that she made from the day that Peter Boy was abused and died,” De Lima said. “And for the rest of her life, she is the mother that knows that she did not do enough to protect her son. She understands that, in some ways, she’s responsible for the death. But she knows that the person responsible for that death will be sentenced soon … Not only for the death, but he’s also responsible for the gruesome discarding of the young child.
“She told the truth, which allowed everyone to know what we all suspected, that Peter Boy Kema was dead at the hands of those … entrusted with his well-being.”
The search continues for Peter Boy’s remains on a stretch of Puna coastline. Peter Kema Sr. is scheduled to be sentenced for manslaughter July 24 and faces a possible 20 years imprisonment on the charge. As part of his plea deal, he also agreed to undergo a polygraph examination to determine his truthfulness if the boy’s remains aren’t found.
Kema Sr., who for almost two decades stuck by a statement that he gave his son away as a hanai (informal Hawaiian adoption) to an “Aunty Rose Makuakane” on Oahu could get an extra five years in prison for hindering prosecution if he is found to be uncooperative.
Nakamoto told Jaylin Kema his decision “whether or not (to) follow the plea agreement” was difficult for him, and he took into account that she, as well as the children, was “a sufferer or domestic abuse. “
“However, it’s still difficult to understand how you failed to protect Peter Boy,” the judge said. “Although it took many years, you did finally assist with bringing this case to a closure. I understand it was not easy and may have been even more difficult as the year went by. I am also noting you entered your guilty pleas … and completed approximately one year of imprisonment prior to today. Although many may not agree, at this point, the court believes that the plea agreement is appropriate in this case. It’s about time that for you, your family and the community, there’s a sense of closure for all involved.”
Afterward, Damerville said he thought Jaylin Kema’s apology was genuine, and praised Nakamoto for honoring the plea agreement.
“It was not a foregone conclusion that he would,” the prosecutor said. “And I think it takes a lot of intestinal fortitude on his part.”
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.