School is priority
for alleged police
abuse victim

Answer: Dempster, now 24, is a student at Honolulu Community College, planning a career as a prosecuting attorney.

Despite her parents' financial hardships, a series of scholarships, including nearly $3,000 from Kamehameha Schools, have enabled her to continue her education.

That schooling started while she was still recovering from addiction to crystal methamphetamine and other drugs.

In 2001, while living in the remote Kau district, Dempster unsuccessfully sought a restraining order against an officer she accused of repeatedly raping her for six years while giving her "ice."

The officer still works for the department.

Also in 2001, another officer was tried for allegedly assaulting and imprisoning Dempster while having an affair with her. The officer was found not guilty, but he no longer works for the department.

Dempster and her family moved to Honolulu. In 2002 she became a certified domestic violence advocate, then a domestic violence counselor.

She volunteered in several places, including Habitat for Humanity, Alu Like and the state Judiciary in Waianae.

"My parents went through hardships to help me," Dempster wrote in a successful application for a Dale E. Fridell Scholarship.

"My father stopped driving the car and rode the city bus instead. He used the gas money for my tuition," she wrote.

Dempster maintains an A-minus grade average.

"She has come a very long way, and her father and I are so proud," said her mother, Theresa.