Hawaii Man Pleads Guilty To Witness Tampering

HONOLULU – Jonathan Cadet, 30, pled guilty yesterday in federal court to one count of witness tampering in violation of 18 United States Code § 1512(d)(1). Cadet faces a maximum term of imprisonment of three years when he is sentenced on November 26, 2018, by Senior U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway.

U.S. Attorney Kenji M. Price said that, according to court documents and information presented in court, in May 2018, Cadet directly contacted a witness in the pending criminal sex trafficking prosecution, United States v. Isaiah McCoy et al. Cadet told the woman that he knew she was a witness in the pending case, and proceeded to harass her, calling her a “rat” and other names. He admitted in Court that he made these statements to her because he was angry, and intended to dissuade her from testifying.

The investigation in this case was led by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas J. Brady and Morgan Early handled the prosecution.