United States Attorney Clare E Connors | U.S. Department of Justice
Dwayne Yuen, a 51-year-old basketball coach from Honolulu, has pleaded guilty to multiple child exploitation and harassment charges. United States Attorney Clare E. Connors confirmed the plea to six counts in a First Superseding Indictment and six counts in a filed Information. The offenses involved three minor victims and additional harassment of seven others.
The charges against Yuen include sex trafficking of Minor Victim 1 during 2005 and 2006, coercing Minor Victim 2 into sexual activity in 2006, and producing child pornography involving Minor Victim 3 between 2020 and 2023. He also admitted to sending anonymous obscene communications to Victims 4 through 10 from around 2021 to 2023.
Yuen's criminal conduct reportedly spanned nearly two decades. During this time, he served as a youth basketball coach for middle school- and high school-aged girls on Oahu, coaching both private club teams and school teams. The victims were players he coached, with some being near adulthood when the harassment occurred.
“Cases involving the exploitation of minors by those they trust often span years, including because perpetrators spend time grooming their targets, who then may delay reporting the crimes for various reasons,” said United States Attorney Clare E. Connors. “This case represents a concerted, persistent effort by law enforcement, advocates, and the targets themselves to seek justice and healing in the criminal system.”
Yuen was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in February 2023 and has been held at the Federal Detention Center in Honolulu since then. His sentencing is scheduled for April 3, 2025, before Senior United States District Judge J. Michael Seabright. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of fifteen years up to a maximum of 144 years for his offenses. Additionally, Yuen could receive supervised release for life, must pay mandatory restitution, and will be required to register as a sex offender.
The investigation is led by the FBI with prosecution by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Perlmutter alongside Trial Attorney Gwendelynn Bills from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section.
