Named as defendants in the suits are the Hawaii Housing Authority and Bernard K. Sagawa, a public housing specialist who became deputy manager of the agency's Hilo office.

According to the suits, Sagawa touched or fondled the women while doing inspections, made inappropriate sexual comments, entered homes unannounced, and solicited sex. The women were residents in state-owned low-income projects or received federal or state housing assistance.

The lawsuits claim the state contributed to the problem by failing to take action when complaints were received.

Harvey E. Henderson, Sagawa's attorney, said in court documents that "in many instances" the offenses never took place or were exaggerated. If any incidents did occur, the women consented, Henderson said.

Attorney John Price, defending the Hawaii Housing Authority, said the state doesn't send inspectors out to annoy people. "That wasn't his job, and I don't feel the state is culpable in any way for what he did that was outside the boundaries of his job," Price said.

There are 11 female plaintiffs in one case and two in the other case. None is identified by name.

Few of the women reported the incidents when they occurred out of fear they might be thrown from their homes if they complained, the suits allege.

At least some who did complain were told by Hawaii Housing Authority officials that nothing could be done because it was Sagawa's word against theirs, according to statements by two employees.

Sagawa was a 20-year veteran of the housing agency, deputy manager of the Hilo housing office, and was active in the community, including serving as chairman of Hawaii County Councilman James Arakaki's campaign.

Sagawa faced criminal charges in 1994 after two women reported separate incidents to police. Both are now among plaintiffs in the pending lawsuits.

Sagawa was initially charged with fourth-degree sexual assault for allegedly touching one woman's breasts while at her home to verify maintenance work. He later pleaded "no contest" to a reduced charge of harassment as part of a plea bargain with prosecutors, court records show. The sexual assault charge was dropped as part of the deal.

Sagawa was sentenced to 48 hours in jail, six months probation, a $500 fine, and was ordered to undergo counseling and to pay for counseling for the victim.

This sentence was later reconsidered and reduced to a deferred acceptance of no contest by Circuit Judge Greg K. Nakamura. As a result, the finding of guilt was set aside and Sagawa's record was wiped clean in late 1995 after a six-month waiting period.

The deal to reduce the charges was approved despite Sagawa's admission to police that he began sexually harassing female clients in the late 1970s.

According to reports by a Hilo police detective disclosed in the current lawsuits, Sagawa initially denied all allegations when he was questioned in December 1993, but later admitted he had "a problem" beginning in the late 1970s and continuing until 1991. He gave police the names of a number of women he touched or had sexual contact with. Sagawa said he was very sorry for what he had done to them, police reports state.

Other victims contacted Karen J. Kelly, another housing specialist in Sagawa's office. In a deposition filed in one of the current cases, Kelly said a young woman complained to her around 1986, and she later received "anywhere from 18 to two dozen" complaints.

The women complained Sagawa stood too close, touched them, made them feel unsafe, or grabbed, fondled, or kissed them.

Kelly says the most serious incident occurred in approximately 1989 or 1990, when a woman reported being sexually assaulted by Sagawa. "She called me up, hysterically crying, throwing up, sobbing," Kelly said in her sworn deposition.

"It really bothered me because I know who the lady is, and she's very timid, a very timid person, a professional person. She does a lot of work for the church."

After spending a sleepless night, Kelly flew to Honolulu at her own expense the next day to report the incident to housing officials. Kelly says she was warned that making accusations against her boss would be dangerous if the victim was afraid or unwilling to press charges, and she could lose her job or be sued for slander.

Kelly said the message was clear: "Drop it for your own good."

According to allegations in one lawsuit, a woman who reported Sagawa to the housing office was told: "A lot of people feel that way, but we're understaffed. You just have to stick it out because we're understaffed. We don't like Bernard any better than you."

In 1991, a few women took their complaints about Sagawa to a member of the Hawaii Housing Authority Commission. Despite the history of similar complaints, HHA administrators again concluded it was simply the women's word against his word.

Robert Hall, HHA's housing management branch chief and former manager of neighbor island housing, said in a deposition that the agency felt it could not pursue the women's complaints unless there were witnesses or other evidence to back them up. Hall said the agency did not hire an investigator to dig into the charges and did not report the alleged incidents to the police.

But Hall told the Star-Bulletin there is generally much greater awareness of sexual harassment as a problem today both in state government and the private sector. Hall said the state encourages employees to attend sexual harassment workshops, but they are not mandatory for HHA employees.

Hall acknowledged that the housing agency constantly faces potential problems because inspectors and maintenance staff must enter homes every day.

"We do have a large number of single mothers among our tenants ... that is a concern we have to be aware of," Hall said.