Abductor of 2 Maui girls
is ruled to be legally insane

The family of 1 girl says it is
satisfied with the judge's decision

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By Gary T. Kubota
gkubota@starbulletin.com

WAILUKU >> A judge acquitted a Maui man yesterday by reason of insanity in separate abductions of two girls -- one of them an 8-year-old in Lahaina during Halloween 2000.

Maui Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza ordered True Kaelo Seal to be committed to the Hawaii State Hospital on Oahu for at least a year and thereafter indefinitely until he decides Seal is fit to be discharged.

"It's conceivable that you could be committed for years," Cardoza informed Seal before issuing the commitment order yesterday.

Deputy Public Defender William "Pili" McGrath said Seal has been taking an anti-psychotic drug and wants to start participating in a sex offender treatment program at the hospital.

McGrath said Seal also has agreed to write letters of apology to the families.

Seal also is required to provide two samples of blood to a DNA bank.

According to court records, Seal graduated from Hana High School and was unemployed and living in Kula at the time of his arrest on Oct. 31, 2000.

An 8-year-old girl from Kihei was at Halloween festivities with her mother and grandmother listening to music in front of the park near the Lahaina Library at 8 p.m. when she was abducted by a man.

The man took her to a secluded area several hundred yards away on Luakini Street and was disrobing her when another man yelled at him.

The other man and police chased the abductor, who jumped into the harbor and swam toward boats moored outside Lahaina Harbor.

Police found Seal hanging naked on a buoy outside the harbor.

Seal already had been charged for a similar abduction a few months earlier.

On Aug. 7, 2000, Seal was charged with kidnapping and first-degree attempted sexual assault involving a girl less than 14 years of age on Maui.

Deputy Prosecutor Davelynn Tengan said experts, including three doctors who examined Seal, agreed that he should be committed to the hospital.

"I think I'm comfortable with that," Tengan said.

The mother of the Kihei girl declined comment on the disposition of the case.

The family of the other girl said it was satisfied with the judge's decision.