Oahu Girls’ Wrestling Coach Indicted for Production, Distribution, Receipt, and Possession of Child Pornography and Child Sex Trafficking

HONOLULU - United States Attorney Ken Sorenson announced that Sean Sakaida, 44, of Honolulu, Hawaii, was indicted on October 15, 2026, and charged with four counts of production of child pornography, four counts of distribution of child pornography, one count of receipt of child pornography, four counts of possession of child pornography, and one count of child sex trafficking. He was previously arrested and taken into custody on September 24, 2026, after being charged by criminal complaint.

According to court records, Sakaida, a former coach of the girls' wrestling team at Moanalua High School, frequently communicated with a minor victim using the messaging application WhatsApp between 2025 and 2026. In these communications, Sakaida received multiple sexually explicit photographs of the minor victim. As charged in the indictment, he also produced and distributed multiple videos of himself engaged in sexual acts with the minor victim. Sakaida was also charged with enticing a second minor victim into engaging in a commercial sex act.

If convicted, Sakaida faces at least 15 years and up to 30 years in prison on each production count, at least 5 years and up to 20 years in prison on each distribution and receipt count, up to 10 years in prison on each possession count, up to life in prison on the sex trafficking count, a fine of up to $250,000, plus a term of supervised release.

The charges in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. In the case of conviction, any sentence would be imposed by a United States District Judge based on the statutory sentencing factors and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.

The FBI is investigating the case.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Heidi Turner is prosecuting the case.

The FBI's Honolulu Field Office is seeking to identify potential victims of Sean Sakaida. If you and/or your minor dependent(s) were victimized by Sean Sakaida or have information relevant to this investigation, please fill out this short form: https://forms.fbi.gov/victims/SakaidaVictims/viewLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link.

If you know of someone else who has possibly been victimized by Sean Sakaida, please encourage them to complete the form themselves.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.