Former Youth Sports Coach Pleads Guilty to Producing Child Pornography

HONOLULU – Rian Harold Ishikawa, 43, of Kailua, appeared today in federal court before United States District Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi, and pleaded guilty to six counts of production of child pornography. Ishikawa was arrested on June 29, 2020, and subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury on April 1, 2021. Ishikawa’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 14, 2022.

During today’s hearing and in a plea agreement, Ishikawa admitted that from November 2012 to July 2015, he produced child pornography involving at least six children between the ages of nine and eleven. The children were friends of Ishikawa’s child and participants in youth sports teams coached by Ishikawa. Using a hidden cell phone, Ishikawa video-recorded each child changing clothes, showering, or drying off in a bathroom in his Kailua residence. Ishikawa also created close-up still images of the naked genitals of the video-recorded children.

Evidence of Ishikawa’s child exploitation crimes first came to the attention of his email provider in November 2019 and was subsequently reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and to Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), which conducted an investigation. Federal jurisdiction exists because Ishikawa used a cell phone that had been transported across state lines before its use in his crimes, and because emails Ishikawa sent to himself of the recordings and images crossed state lines by traveling through his email provider’s servers on the mainland.

Ishikawa faces imprisonment for a term between 15 and 30 years followed by supervised release for a term between 5 years and life on each count. He will also be required to pay restitution of at least $3,000 to each victim and may be fined by the Court. The plea agreement between the government and Ishikawa provides that the government will recommend a sentence of 20 years imprisonment on each count, and that the parties will jointly recommend at least 10 years of post-imprisonment supervised release.

United States Attorney Clare E. Connors stated, “Crimes targeting children, especially sexually exploitive crimes perpetrated by persons in positions of trust, threaten the overall safety of our community. These very serious offenses carry significant prison penalties and will be vigorously prosecuted by our office.”

“Mr. Ishikawa used his position as a trusted community member to commit unspeakable crimes against children,” said HSI Special Agent in Charge John F. Tobon. “Let this case be a reminder that HSI and our local law enforcement partners will work tirelessly to remove predators from our streets to keep our keiki safe.”

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig S. Nolan is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, 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 www.justice.gov/psc.