Clare E. Connors, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of Hawaii
A former correctional officer in Hawaii has admitted to sexually abusing inmates under his care. Mikael Rivera, 47, from Kapolei, pleaded guilty to six counts of sexual abuse of a ward. The offenses occurred while he was employed at the Federal Detention Center in Honolulu between 2014 and 2018.
Court documents reveal that Rivera engaged in multiple non-consensual sexual acts with one inmate and committed sexually abusive conduct with two others during his tenure as a correctional officer. He is set to be sentenced on July 3 and could face up to 15 years in prison for each count. A federal district court judge will decide the final sentence after reviewing the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other legal factors.
The announcement was made by Acting U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson for the District of Hawaii, Supervisory Official Antoinette T. Bacon of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Special Agent in Charge Zachary Shroyer of the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (DOJ-OIG) Western Region.
The DOJ-OIG is leading the investigation with support from the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Ayabe for the District of Hawaii and Trial Attorney Nicole Lockhart from the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section are prosecuting Rivera's case, aided significantly by former Deputy Chiefs Jennifer Clarke and Marco Palmieri.
