An ‘Aiea man was sentenced Wednesday to 20 years imprisonment for sexually abusing two children for more than four years.
Bryson Mahoe, 33, was convicted of two counts of continuous sexual assault of a minor under the age of 14, and is the second person to be convicted in the years-long abuse of four children entrusted to the Mahoe family for foster care.
The first person convicted was his mother, Dorothy Mahoe, 55, who was sentenced in November to four years in prison on four counts each of endangering the welfare of a minor and persistent nonsupport.
Still unresolved, however, is a civil suit by the Mahoes’ victims against the Hawai‘i Department of Human Services.
According to the suit, the Mahoes took in four children for foster care in 2014. Over the years, the children would be subjected to repeated abuse by Dorothy, Bryson Mahoe, which would constantly go overlooked or unremarked upon by school officials and DHS.
In 2018, Child Welfare Services received a report alleging physical abuse by the Mahoes; the children said they were not being fed enough, that they had been beaten, and that the Mahoes would force the foster children to stare at a wall while the Mahoes’ biological children watched television.
Child Welfare Services closed the case in March 2019; no consequences ever came to the Mahoes, who continued fostering the four children.
In May of that year, the Mahoes’ biological daughter told Child Welfare Services that Dorothy Mahoe had threatened her with a knife. In her report, she repeated the claims of abuse against the foster children.
Child Welfare Services closed the case in 2020; once again, no consequences came to the Mahoes, according to the civil suit.
After the children returned to school in 2021 following the year of COVID-19 lockdowns, bruises were seen on some of their faces. According to the lawsuit, ‘Aiea Intermediate School principal James Kau noticed and commented on the bruises to Dorothy Mahoe — who said the child in question had acted out — but seemingly never reported the injuries to CWS or the police.
Finally, in 2021, another complaint by a person worried about the well-being of the children was evidently sufficient to prompt an intervention by CWS, who finally separated the children from the Mahoes’ residence.
Subsequent interviews with the children revealed the extent of the abusive conditions of the Mahoe house, including forced exercise — one child, only 4 or 5 years old at the time, described being forced to stand on one foot for hours at a time with rat traps on the floor surrounding him — being locked in a single bedroom with no bathroom access, and more.
The two female children also described repeated sexual abuse by Bryson Mahoe, who would reportedly offer the malnourished girls food and snacks in exchange for sexual acts, some of which he photographed.
The lawsuit also alleges that Dorothy Mahoe witnessed at least one of these sex acts, and punished the victim, rather than her son.
The suit argues that the state had ample indications of the Mahoes’ abusive acts yet failed to intervene for years. It adds that, just one month before the Mahoes were granted legal guardianship over the children in 2016, Bryson Mahoe was charged with filming a woman without her consent, a sex offense for which he was eventually sentenced to 100 hours of community service.
But while the civil suit is ongoing — scheduled hearings in the case extend well into 2027 — the Honolulu Department of the Prosecuting Attorney commended the victims for their bravery.
"These crimes represent a profound violation of trust and cause lifelong harm to children,” said Honolulu Prosecutor Steve Alm in a statement. “These children showed remarkable bravery in reporting the incident and working with law enforcement and our office to hold the defendant accountable. This 20-year sentence holds the defendant accountable and affirms our commitment to protecting children and seeking justice for victims of sexual abuse.”
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