Fired officer guilty
of assault

As a Maui policeman, he tried to
extort sex during a traffic stop

WAILUKU » A former Maui police officer was found guilty yesterday of trying to sexually assault a woman after stopping her for a traffic violation.

Aaron Won, 25, who was working as a Lahaina patrolman during the attempted sexual assault on July 28, is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 10 before Maui Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza.

The jury found Won guilty of two counts of second-degree attempted sexual assault, one count of second-degree attempted extortion and one count of second-degree unlawful imprisonment.

Won faces up to 10 years in prison in each of the second-degree attempted sexual assaults.

Cardoza raised Won's bail to $150,000 from $75,000.

Maui Police Chief Tom Phillips said he was "very happy" with the jury's verdict.

"I can tell you I think the victim was very, very brave ... and she deserves our thanks for coming forward," Phillips said. "It took a lot. Who knows how many others this guy could have preyed upon if she hadn't come forward?"

Won's attorney declined to comment after the verdict.

Phillips said the incident was unfortunate but that Maui police detectives did the "right thing."

The woman, 27, an illegal alien who worked cleaning homes, was driving to a job in Kahana on the morning of July 28 when she was stopped by Won.

The woman, who spoke little English, said that after stopping her on Lower Honoapiilani Road, Won pointed out she had an expired safety sticker. She presented her Mexican identification card but had no Hawaii driver's license or insurance.

The woman said after she was ordered to sit in the back seat in the police car, she was taken to a police substation in Napili, where Won asked her to take off her blouse and have sex with him or face arrest.

The woman said she was arrested after she refused to have oral sex with him.

On their way back to her car, Won stopped by a side street and asked if she had changed her mind, and she refused again, the woman said.

Prosecutor Davelynn Tengan said Won violated Police Department procedure by taking the woman to the isolated substation rather than the regional station in Lahaina.

The woman was booked for traffic violations at the station and released.

Later that same day, she spoke with a Spanish-speaking police officer who notified his supervisor about the allegation.

Won was suspended without pay after the police investigation on July 28, and he was discharged from the department about three months ago.