United States Attorney Clare E. Connors announced that Dwayne Yuen, a 51-year-old resident of Honolulu, has pleaded guilty to 12 counts of child exploitation and harassment offenses. Yuen, a former youth basketball coach, pleaded guilty to all six counts in a First Superseding Indictment and six counts in a filed Information.
According to court documents, Yuen committed crimes against three minor victims, including sex trafficking Minor Victim 1 in 2005 and 2006, coercing and enticing Minor Victim 2 to engage in sexual activity in 2006, and producing, receiving, and possessing child pornography of Minor Victim 3 between 2020 and 2023. Additionally, Yuen pleaded guilty to harassing seven victims, identified as Victims 4 through 10, through anonymous and obscene communications between 2021 and 2023.
Yuen’s victims were all basketball players he coached, mostly middle school- and high school-aged girls, on private club teams and at various private and public schools on Oahu. At the time of the harassment, Victims 4 through 9 were at or near 18 years old, while Victim 10 was 17 years old.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Yuen in February 2023, and he has been detained at the Federal Detention Center in Honolulu since his arrest. Court pleadings and information in court hearings describe a course of criminal conduct spanning nearly two decades.
United States Attorney Clare E. Connors stated, “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. 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’s sentencing is set for April 3, 2025, before the Honorable J. Michael Seabright, Senior United States District Judge. He faces a mandatory 15 years in prison and up to 144 years in prison for all 12 offenses. Additionally, Yuen faces a term of supervised release of up to life, mandatory restitution, and must register as a sex offender.
The case is being investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Perlmutter and Trial Attorney Gwendelynn Bills of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section.
