Youth Basketball Coach Arrested for Possession of Child Pornography

HONOLULU – DWAYNE YUEN, a 49 year-old resident of Honolulu, was arrested today for possession of child pornography. Clare E. Connors, United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii, and Matthew Floyd, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Honolulu Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced that the charge against YUEN was contained in a criminal complaint filed in federal court and unsealed upon his arrest. YUEN will make his first court appearance in the United States District Court on February 3, 2023, at 10:30 a.m. before United States Magistrate Judge Rom Trader.

The complaint and affidavit allege that YUEN was a youth basketball coach of mostly middle school and high school age girls in and around Oahu. In or around 2016, YUEN met the victim when she was a freshman in high school. YUEN was her basketball coach. While the victim was still a minor, in 2020, YUEN sent text message communications to her, including: sending sexually explicit photos of himself; asking her to perform sexual acts on him and vice versa; and asking her to send him sexually explicit images of herself. YUEN bought gifts for the victim and repeatedly offered to pay the victim additional sums of money if she would engage with him sexually (for example, if she would have “phone sex” with him). From a search warrant executed on YUEN’s Apple iCloud account, law enforcement also recovered sexually explicit images of the victim that she had sent to him upon his request or that he had recorded or captured from a live video chat without her knowledge.

“This complaint charges defendant with repeatedly taking sexual advantage of a minor who played on a team he coached,” said U.S. Attorney Connors. “The alleged conduct is a reprehensible violation of the trust both parents and the community place in adults responsible for their children’s athletic endeavors.”

"The alleged actions of Mr. Yuen are nothing short of disgraceful," said Acting Special Agent in Charge Floyd. "Our investigation shows he abused the power of his position as a trusted member of the community to exploit the most vulnerable - our keiki. Protecting our children and holding those who prey on them accountable is a top priority for the FBI. We will stop at nothing when investigating these heinous crimes."

The FBI is working to identify any individuals who may have been a victim of child sexual exploitation or who otherwise may have been affected by YUEN’s conduct. If you believe you or anyone else may have been affected, you may contact the FBI at:

Phone: (808) 673-2719
Website: www.fbi.gov/yueninvestigation
Email: yueninvestigation@fbi.gov

If indicted and convicted of the offenses in the complaint, the defendant would face up to 10 years’ imprisonment. The charges and information contained in the federal complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until indicted and proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The FBI is investigating the case, and the prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rebecca Perlmutter and Christine Olson.