Hawaii man
first in the nation
to face new
child-porn law

The Washington Middle School
registrar is charged with producing
child pornography

By Debra Barayuga
Star-Bulletin

A Washington Middle School registrar will be the first person in the country to be tried under a new federal law that makes it illegal to produce child pornography using materials that have crossed state lines.

William Sealy Jr., who is on administrative leave from the state Department of Education, yesterday pleaded not guilty to two counts of receiving pornographic material over the Internet and six counts of producing pornographic materials involving minor children.

Sealy, 38, was arrested March 25 and accused of ordering four videotapes showing minors between the ages of 8 and 13 engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Sealy was charged Thursday in an amended indictment with receiving and manufacturing pornographic materials.

The new federal statute was enacted last November. If convicted of producing child pornography, he faces a mandatory minimum 10-year imprisonment on each of the six counts.

On the earlier charges of receiving child pornography materials, he faces a maximum of 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

According to the latest indictment, Sealy is charged with employing six boys to engage in sexual conduct. He is accused of videotaping them using videocassettes manufactured in Japan or South Carolina.

Sealy has been on personal leave since his arrest, said Greg Knudsen, spokesman for the Department of Education. The department is also conducting an investigation and cooperating in the criminal investigation.

Sealy first began working in the schools in September of 1986 as a special-education teacher at Kaiser High School. He has worked at Washington Middle School since September 1987.

Sealy is scheduled to go to trial Oct. 19 before Judge David Ezra.