Veteran MPD officer pleads not guilty to sexual assault charges
Trending
Devin Schoeppner, a 12-year veteran with the Maui Police Department, pleaded not guilty Friday in Maui Circuit Court to sexual assault charges stemming from an alleged incident in May 2025.
A pretrial conference is scheduled for Oct. 12.
A grand jury indicted Schoeppner, 49, on Aug. 28 on four counts of second-degree sexual assault and two counts of third-degree sexual assault.
The charges stem from an alleged encounter with a woman following a single-vehicle crash involving her vehicle on May 16-17, 2025.
In May 2025, the Maui Police Department announced that Schoeppner, a resident of Kahului, had been arrested on a charge of first-degree sexual assault. The department placed Schoeppner on administrative leave and removed his department-issued credentials and firearm pending the outcome of the investigation.
Earlier this week, Maui County Prosecutor Andrew Martin said his office is continuing to investigate the case and asked anyone with information related to Schoeppner to come forward.
"We believe there are individuals who had interactions with Mr. Schoeppner or know someone who did, either recently or in the past," Martin said in the news release. "We ask anyone who may have information to please contact us. You may think your information is unimportant, or perhaps already known by law enforcement. Please provide any information you may have so that we may assess it."
Martin said the prosecutor's office understands there may be circumstances that cause people to hesitate to come forward.
"However, your information is important and will be handled with discretion and care," Martin said. "Although Mr. Schoeppner has been indicted, we are committed to following up on all information related to him."
In the news release, the prosecutor's office asked anyone with information to contact the FBI Honolulu field office at (808) 566-4300 or submit a tip at tips.fbi.gov.
In a Monday news release, Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said any MPD employee who violates the law will be held accountable.
"It is deeply troubling whenever an individual entrusted to serve and protect the public is accused of such conduct," Pelletier said. "The badge carries a tremendous responsibility and a standard of conduct that must never be compromised."
"The actions of one employee do not define the dedicated men and women who serve this community every day, but we will never minimize or excuse a betrayal of the trust placed in us," Pelletier said.
Schoeppner is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.