Man gets 9 months for sex assault of boy
Star-Bulletin staff
A former Keaau Elementary School employee is serving a nine-month prison sentence for sexually assaulting an 8-year-old boy during school hours on school grounds in November.
Circuit Judge Greg Nakamura sentenced Cary Cantere to the jail term plus five years probation Monday for two counts of third-degree sexual assault.
Cantere, 38, pleaded guilty to the charges March 17.
One count charged him with assaulting the third-grade boy in a classroom, according to an indictment. The second count charged Cantere with assaulting the boy in the school's gymnasium after school.
Cantere was an adult supervisor at the school providing supervision in the lunchroom and sometimes on the playground, said Sandy Goya, state Department of Education spokeswoman.
The boy's mother is suing the state and the department over the incidents. In the lawsuit filed in state court on Oahu on Monday, she is referred to as "Jane Doe Parent." Her lawyer declined comment.
Goya said education officials cannot comment on the lawsuit because they have not yet seen it.
The lawsuit claims the school failed to institute adequate policies regarding the prohibition, reporting and prevention of sex abuse and the protection of children from sex abuse.