Maui Fire official accused of child sex crimes makes first court appearance

By A’ali’i Dukelow

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    WAILUKU, Hawaii (KITV) — A high-ranking Maui fire official accused of child sex crimes pled not guilty to the charges during his first court appearance Wednesday.

Last month, a grand jury indicted 52-year-old Maui Fire Dept. Battalion Chief Shawn Rogers, who is now facing charges for continuous sexual assault of a minor under the age of 14 and first-degree sexual assault. According to court documents, the alleged abuse began in November 2019 and went on for three years.

After his arrest, the department reassigned Rogers to its administration program.

“Despite the fact that he’s a part of the fire department, that he mioght be a public figure, he’s entitled to every right just like every other American,” attorney Megan Kau said during a virtual interview offering insight after Rogers’ arraignment Wednesday afternoon.

Brandon Segal, Rogers’ attorney, previously mentioned in a statement the accuser’s family dropped their attempt to seek a restraining order against his client, “after being ordered to turn over evidence that would have clearly and unequivocally proven Shawn’s innocence.”

Kau said details over the restraining order could be used as evidence in a trial if the judge allows it.

“If the judge allows this dismissal of a TRO (temporary restraining order) in, the defense is going to argue, ‘hey look, they initially tried to put a TRO against me, they decided it wasn’t a good idea for these reasons and therefore, I’m not guilty,'” Kau added.

But Kau pointed out the prosecution could argue the family did not want to have the child take the witness stand against the alleged attacker or they simply did not want to go through with the proceeding.

The accusations were reported years later after they allegedly happened, which Kau said is typical in sex assault cases involving minors.

In a trial, Kau noted the defense usually argues the delay discredits the victim.

And as for the prosecution, “the prosecution is always going to argue that, in fact, the prosecution puts up an expert witness, Dr. Bivens, who typically says there is typically a delay in reporting,” Kau explained.

“Each party will use the delay to its advantage if possible.”

Rogers’ attorney declined our request for comment on the plea.

In a statement, Maui Fire Chief Brad Ventura said, “We recognize the seriousness of these allegations, and this case is now in the hands of the court. We are not aware of any of the alleged charges occurring at the workplace, and were not aware of this or prior allegations, until they became public.”

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