When Schools Fail: The Hawaiʻi Case and Why Safer Recruitment is at the Heart of Child Safeguarding and Protection
Child Sexual Abuse
In August 2025, former Punahou School basketball coach and longtime Hawaiʻi Department of Education teacher Dwayne Yuen was sentenced to over 33 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to 12 charges, including sex trafficking, coercing children into sex, and producing child pornography. His crimes, spanning nearly two decades, are not just a story of individual predation, they are a sobering indictment of how schools can fail children when safer recruitment and reporting practices are neglected.
Early Warnings Ignored
Yuen’s abuse was no secret.
- 2004–2006: Punahou fired him for sexual misconduct, and multiple students filed police reports and obtained restraining orders.
- Despite a ban, Yuen continued coaching informally, shielded by relationships with senior staff.
- By 2007, he secured a teaching position at Momilani Elementary, where he taught for over a decade, while coaching at Moanalua High School and Kamehameha Schools.
The pressing question is: How did someone with multiple restraining orders and known misconduct enter state employment and remain in classrooms and sports teams for years?
Gaps in Recruitment and Oversight
The Yuen case exposes systemic cracks that predators exploit:
- Criminal background checks often exclude police reports, restraining orders, or civil suits.
- Reference checks are not mandatory, and schools often avoid disclosing misconduct for fear of lawsuits.
- Licensing loopholes allow unlicensed teachers to work for years and escape misconduct registries.
- Weak accountability means administrators face little consequence for failing to report allegations.
Why Safer Recruitment Matters
Child safeguarding and Protection begins before a teacher enters the classroom. It starts with who is allowed past the recruitment gate. Safe recruitment is not a formality, it is the first firewall against abusers.
Best practice requires schools to adopt a rigorous recruitment and vetting framework that includes:
- Expanded Background Checks: Covering not just convictions, but also police reports, restraining orders, and child protection records.
- Mandatory Reference Verification: Contacting at least two past employers, including the most recent, with documented follow-up.
- Employment History Scrutiny: Investigating gaps in resumes and flagging unexplained resignations during investigations.
- Affidavit of Good Character: Requiring sworn statements that applicants have never engaged in abuse, faced safeguarding investigations, or resigned to avoid disciplinary action.
- Continuous Suitability Reviews: Periodic re-screening and mandatory re-checks when new allegations arise.
- Accountability with Consequences: Laws requiring schools to complete investigations and share findings must carry enforceable penalties for noncompliance.
Lessons for Schools and Policymakers
- The Yuen case mirrors patterns seen worldwide: predators thrive when institutions prioritize reputation over protection. Laws on safer recruitment exist, but without enforcement and a culture of compliance, they remain paper shields.
- For schools, the message is urgent: every adult you hire is either your strongest safeguard or your biggest risk. Recruitment must be treated as a child protection act, not just a staffing process.
- For policymakers, effective safeguards demand binding obligations, national databases, inter-school transparency, and sanctions for failure to report.
A Call to Action
Dwayne Yuen’s crimes are heinous but more devastating is how preventable many of them were. Early warnings were ignored. Recruitment checks failed. Reporting obligations were neglected. Schools must recognize this truth: child safeguarding begins at the hiring desk. Every reference not called, every history not verified, every report ignored creates space for abuse to thrive.
