Oahu man sentenced
in sexual assaults

The judge sets the mandatory
minimum at six years in prison

A man who sexually assaulted a teenage boy and attempted to sexually assault another boy in separate public restrooms in Honolulu last summer was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Circuit Judge Virginia Crandall rejected the prosecutor's request to sentence Ryan Vaughn, 24, to an extended term of life imprisonment, saying his records show he is capable of responding to rehabilitation and that he needs sex offender and substance abuse treatment.

She left it up to the Hawaii Paroling Authority to decide how long he will actually serve but did order Vaughn to serve a mandatory minimum of six years and eight months as a repeat offender.

Vaughn, of Central Oahu, pleaded guilty as charged in March to two counts of first-degree sexual assault, theft, attempted second-degree sexual assault and second-degree extortion. He was on probation for two auto thefts at the time he committed the latest offenses.

In a June 14 incident, Vaughn burst into a restroom stall at Neiman Marcus in Ala Moana Center occupied by a 16-year-old boy and demanded oral sex. The boy managed to leave the bathroom, but Vaughn followed him, claiming he was an undercover security officer and then demanding a couple of hundred dollars to let him go -- which the boy paid.

Vaughn attacked again on June 22, taking a 14-year-old boy to a restroom near Union Mall, where he robbed the boy of his money and then forced him to perform oral sex, claiming he had a gun.

Deputy Prosecutor Thalia Murphy argued for the extended term, calling Vaughn a sexual predator whose crimes escalated dangerously from stealing cars to preying on young boys.

Deputy public defender Ed Harada disagreed that his client is a sexual predator, saying there has been no history or pattern in his background to indicate he is a sexual offender or a violent man.

Harada acknowledged that Vaughn does have an "ice" problem that has gone untreated and caused him to behave as he did.

Murphy said many people use "ice," but they do not go around sexually assaulting young boys.

Vaughn apologized for his conduct, saying if there was anything he could do or say to undo the suffering he has caused, he would.

But the father of the 16-year-old boy said Vaughn's apology does not mean anything.

The day the assaults were reported, adults and acquaintances made fun of the boy, questioning why he could not defend himself and suggesting that he must have allowed it to happen. Vaughn is about 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds, the father said.

"I know the strength of my son, but I also know the other young man apparently is going through hell. It's destroyed him. He will live with it forever," he said.

His son no longer views people around him with the same trust as before, he said, but has been able to deal with what happened because of the support of his family.

He disputed Crandall's findings about Vaughn. "I don't agree with her, because he's a sexual predator, and there are no studies saying time in Halawa is gonna solve that," he said. "There are no studies to show sexual predators change their mind -- ice didn't make him a sexual predator."

Murphy commended the two boys for their bravery in reporting the incidents to police, "and doing so prevented him from victimizing other kids."