WAILUKU — In a case that a deputy prosecutor said exemplifies the reason for felony domestic violence laws, a Kahului man was sentenced to a one-year jail term for punching one boy and placing another boy in a stranglehold in front of a younger child.

Calvin Morisaki, 37, was placed on five years’ probation as part of his sentence Wednesday.

Morisaki had pleaded no contest to three counts of felony abuse, two in the presence of children under age 14.

He was reported to be highly intoxicated and drinking in the backyard Sept. 14 when he approached his girlfriend’s two sons, ages 12 and 13, and began talking to them about their father, said Deputy Prosecutor David Mincavage.

He said Morisaki’s 6-year-old daughter with his girlfriend was present when he said that if the boys’ father showed up, he would “kill them all,” Mincavage said.

He said Morisaki punched one boy in the stomach, then approached the other boy and put him in a stranglehold for two to five seconds, causing him to have trouble breathing.

“This is a father figure to the kids attacking them,” Mincavage said.

He said what happened “exemplifies the law” making it a felony when abuse is committed in front of children under age 14.

“He’s left a lasting impression on these kids,” Mincavage said. “A 6-year-old seeing her two brothers, one punched and one put in a stranglehold.”

He said the prosecution considered Morisaki’s lack of an extensive prior criminal record in recommending probation.

“I man up to my mistakes,” Morisaki said in court.

He said the prosecutor was right — “a father figure shouldn’t have done that.”

“I’d like to address my alcohol problem — that’s my No. 1 thing — and my anger,” Morisaki said.

He asked to be released after spending more than five months in jail so he could go back to work and pay child support.

Second Circuit Judge Richard Bissen said he was convinced that Morisaki was remorseful, but didn’t see any logic to the defendant’s actions, which weren’t disciplinary.

“It was just you kind of acting up, lining them up and just beating them, just traumatizing them,” Bissen said. “In some instances, people might say you were torturing them or tormenting them, letting them know you’re the man, you’re the boss.”

Morisaki said he was upset because a tire had been slashed on a truck while he and his girlfriend had been gone from home overnight and the boys’ father had visited. Morisaki also said he was stressed about bills.

“I still don’t get that,” Judge Bissen said.

“I don’t know what impact it’s going to have on these kids when they get older and neither do you,” Bissen said. “I’m glad that you’ve learned a lesson because that’s the important part of it.”

Morisaki was ordered to pay restitution totaling $500 and to complete anger management classes. He was ordered not to consume alcohol or illegal drugs and abide by a protective order in place until October 2020.