KAILUA-KONA — A Captain Cook man was sentenced to up to 20 years in prison for sexual assault of a minor, the Hawaii County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday.
Rudolph Puni Kaeo was issued consecutive terms and will serve up to 10 years for the charge of second-degree sexual assault, up to five years for third-degree promoting child abuse and up to five years for third-degree conspiracy to promote child abuse.
Kaeo pleaded no contest Aug. 27 to the charges, in which he sexually assaulted a minor, encouraged the minor to send him pornographic images of herself and possessed further pornographic images of the minor during a period of time beginning in March 2016 and lasting until January 2017.
The charges came about after the minor’s caregiver discovered sexually explicit images and messages between Kaeo and the minor on a tablet belonging to the minor.
The matter was reported to the Hawaii Police Department, which began an investigation. Police collected the tablet device and recovered the images of child pornography, as well as messages between Kaeo and the minor. Police executed a search warrant on Kaeo’s cellphone, as well as questioned Kaeo, who acknowledged sending and receiving the messages. Further investigation led to the minor disclosing details about a July 2016 sexual assault in Ocean View.
Kaeo was sentenced to consecutive prison terms by Kona Circuit Judge Melvin H. Fujino following the recommendation of the state and a presentence investigation report.
After hearing from the minor victim herself in court, Kaeo was immediately taken into custody to begin serving his sentence.