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Wailuku school teacher charged in Operation Keiki Shield

He’s accused of setting meeting with minor for sex

WAILUKU — A judge ordered a schoolteacher not to return to his workplace while he faces a felony charge for allegedly arranging a meeting for sex with someone he believed to be a child.

Kays Abdelkarim, 52, of Wailuku also was ordered not to have any contact with minors.

Second Circuit Judge Peter Cahill ordered the conditions Thursday while reducing bail from $500,000 to $20,000 for Abdelkarim, who has pleaded not guilty to first-degree electronic enticement of a child.

He was among 10 men arrested March 13 to 15 in Kihei as part of Operation Keiki Shield. After making contact with an undercover agent posing as a 13-year-old girl, the men took steps to meet with the person they believed was a minor to engage in sexual acts, police said.

Maui police and other law enforcement officers participated in the sting to identify, locate and arrest offenders who commit internet-facilitated sexual crimes against children and to identify and rescue child victims of sexual exploitation and abuse, police said.

In court Thursday, Deputy Public Defender Jeffrey Wolfenbarger said Abdelkarim could live with his ex-wife in Wailuku if he is released on bail.

After being arrested March 16, Abdelkarim had posted the $20,000 bail set by police to be released.

Bail for him and others arrested in the operation was increased after the cases were assessed individually by the prosecutor’s office, said Deputy Prosecutor J.W. Hupp.

Even though Abdelkarim doesn’t have a prior criminal record, “this defendant does stand out,” Hupp said.

“He does travel internationally, and he’s a schoolteacher,” Hupp said.

He said Abdelkarim works with special needs children.

“The concern for the state is in the way he was trying to access a minor,” Hupp said in court.

He said there also was concern Abdelkarim might flee.

Judge Cahill ordered Abdelkarim, who said he has a U.S. passport, to turn over the passport to his attorney if he is released from jail. He also was ordered not to leave Maui unless he obtains a court order allowing him to do so.

Abdelkarim was ordered to stay off social media sites, except to talk to his 68-year-old mother in Egypt.

A June 1 trial is set for Abdelkarim.

In an email Thursday, the state Department of Education said: “We can confirm that Kays Abdelkarim is an employee of Baldwin High School. The department is aware of a possible case involving Mr. Abdelkarim and will be conducting an internal investigation.”

During a court hearing last week, bail was kept at $500,000 for another man arrested in the sting.

Kyle Cribben, 28, of Napili has pleaded not guilty to first-degree electronic enticement of a child and indecent electronic display to a child.

He asked to have his bail reduced, with Deputy Public Defender Danielle Sears saying Cribben could be placed on house arrest and have no contact with anyone.

Hupp opposed the request, citing the allegations that led to Cribben’s arrest.

“The conversation between the defendant and the agent was rather lengthy, very sexually explicit and ultimately, he agreed to go to the location to meet,” Hupp said. “He was planning to meet with a person he thought was a 13-year-old for sex.

“He drove from Lahaina all the way to Kihei late at night in order to meet up with this person he thought was a 13-year-old child. It’s very concerning.”

Hupp noted that Cribben is on probation in two cases for violating an order for protection and violating a temporary restraining order. Two women obtained the orders several months apart, Hupp said.

He said he talked to both women, who reported domestic violence in their relationships with Cribben — “not actual physical violence but in pressure, manipulation.”

In addition, Hupp said a third woman — who had been in a relationship with Cribben when she was a minor nearly 10 years ago — reported that he has continued to contact her, sending text messages about sex as recently as last year.

“This is somebody who really, really needs to have bail that’s higher than normal because he clearly has some kind of issue,” Hupp said.

In keeping bail at $500,000, 2nd Circuit Judge Rhonda Loo said she was concerned about the allegations, as well as the fact that Cribben was on probation at the time.

Another defendant, Rodney Shimoda, 64, of Kahului, was arraigned Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to first-degree electronic enticement of a child and indecent electronic display to a child. He was released after posting $100,000 bail, according to court records.

He was ordered to have no contact with minors and to not access social media websites.

* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.

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