13-year-old foster child
was sexually assaulted,
lawsuit says
HILO » A representative of a 13-year-old Big Island girl alleges in a lawsuit that the girl was sexually assaulted repeatedly by a member of the foster family that was caring for her.
The state Child Protective Services agency, which placed the girl in the allegedly abusive situation, and the foster family are named as defendants in the suit filed Thursday.
The girl is identified in the suit only by her initials. Olivia Josephine Ayala, identified as the girl's representative, brought the suit on the girl's behalf.
In April or May 2003, the girl was placed in the state-licensed foster home run by Kealaloha and Rosemarie Wilson, a married couple in Kurtistown, said Ayala's attorney Robert Kim.
At that time, the girl learned that the Wilsons' son, David, described as an adult, married man living with his parents at the time, was "engaging in sexual conduct" with another girl in foster care at the Wilson home.
The 13-year-old told Ayala she believed that she would become the next victim when the other girl left the home, the suit says. When the girl did leave, sexual assaults on the 13-year-old took place from October to December, the suit alleges.
The girl was removed from the Wilson home on Dec. 7, the suit says.
Even before the girl was placed in the Wilson home, the Child Protective Services agency had received reports that other foster children were sexually assaulted at the home, the suit alleges. The agency did not adequately investigate the complaints, it says.
The Hawaii County Prosecutor's Office is reviewing the case for possible criminal charges, according to Kim.
Members of the Wilson family were not available for comment.
Another Hilo resident named David Wilson, who is a certified nursing assistant, said he is not connected to the case.
Derrick Dahilig, spokesman for the Department of Human Services, of which Child Protective Services is a part, said he could not comment because the case is pending and because of confidentiality laws.
