Pleas were entered Wednesday in Hilo Circuit Court in separate cases involving the alleged possession of child pornography.
Milton Giovanni Ferreyro pleaded not guilty to two counts of second-degree promotion of child abuse and one count of third-degree promotion of child abuse.
Judge Greg Nakamura ordered the 33-year-old Ferreyro, who was a student at the Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy at the University of Hawaii at Hilo, to appear for trial at 9 a.m. Dec. 18.
Ferreyro, a resident of Pasadena, Calif., was indicted June 27 by a Hilo grand jury. The indictment was sealed until the judge unsealed it during Wednesday’s hearing since Ferreyro was extradited from California to face the charges.
According to the indictment, on Oct. 17, 2017, Ferreyro had a hard disk drive and iPhone 7, both containing 30 or more images of child pornography. Each device contained at least one image depicting a child younger than 12.
He also had child pornographic images on a thumb drive labeled “The Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy, University of Hawaii at Hilo” and/or media files contained on an iPad Air II, the indictment states.
Pamela Lundquist, Ferreyro’s Honolulu-based attorney, noted Ferreyro’s parents were in the courtroom gallery and asked the judge to allow Ferreyro to travel to California to live with them while he awaits trial. She said Ferreyro’s brother, Kenneth, is an attorney in California, and Ferreyro is well aware of the consequences of violating court orders and failing to appear for court dates.
She added that Ferreyro, who is free on $120,000 bail, lost his passport and intends to report it missing to the State Department, which would prevent him from fleeing the country.
“He has signed a waiver of extradition, and, Your Honor, he’s got 30 days in custody in California, where he was held previous to his being extradited here. … He had come here for school, but he isn’t currently enrolled,” Lundquist said.
Deputy Prosecutor Evans Smith objected to Lundquist’s request, and Nakamura instructed her to submit her motion in writing before he’ll consider it.
Second-degree promotion of child abuse is a Class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison, while third-degree promotion is a Class C felony punishable by up to five years imprisonment.
The indictment requests the judge consider extended sentencing “for the protection of the public,” should Ferreyro be convicted on two or more of the felony charges.
According to Ferreyro’s Facebook page, he worked as a certified pharmacy technician in California before he enrolled in UH-Hilo’s pharmacy school. He has not attended classes there since the fall 2017 semester.
In an unrelated case, 37-year-old Joshua Iwasaki of Honokaa pleaded guilty to a single count of third-degree promotion of child abuse.
In a deal with the state attorney general, whose office is prosecuting this case, two counts of second-degree promotion of child abuse against Iwasaki were dropped in return for his guilty plea.
He faces a possible five-year prison term when he is sentenced at 8 a.m. Jan. 17 before Nakamura.
Iwasaki was indicted Sept. 11, 2017, by a Kona grand jury. According to the indictment, on Sept. 17, 2014, Iwasaki had in his possession an external hard drive with images of child pornography.
He was arrested March 5, and is free on $12,000 bail.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.