HONOLULU — Three former basketball players alleged sexual abuse in a civil lawsuit filed against a Honolulu school and a former coach, according to court documents.
The lawsuit filed Wednesday against Punahou School and former assistant coach Dwayne Yuen said he abused the female students between 2003 and 2006, beginning when at least one of the girls was 12 years old.
When reached by The Associated Press Friday, Yuen declined to comment on the allegations.
The AP does not normally name victims in alleged sexual assault cases, but Ilima-Lei Macfarlane and her sister Mahina Macfarlane Souza are named in the lawsuit and one of their attorneys said they are willing to speak publicly about the allegations.
Ilima-Lei Macfarlane, a 2009 graduate of Punahou School, is a professional mixed-martial arts fighter currently holding a world championship title belt in the flyweight division with the Bellator MMA organization.
The third plaintiff is listed on the lawsuit as “Jane Doe.”
The private, coeducational school has more than 3,700 students in kindergarten through 12th grade.
The civil complaint alleged years of manipulation and sexual abuse, including the rape of one of the students, and negligence and condoning of the abuse by other coaches and administrators.
Yuen, who was in his mid-30s at the time, “was a sexual predator who targeted and sexually groomed underage female students attending Punahou School,” the complaint said.
Sexual grooming occurs when a child is taught to trust an adult who then initiates an inappropriate relationship.
The court filing listed numerous accounts of sexual abuse, cash offers for sexual acts, sexual harassment, unwanted sexual advances, and sexually explicit photos.
“If the reports involve juveniles, we are unable to release information,” Honolulu police spokeswoman Michelle Yu said in an email from the AP Friday asking if there were any police investigations related to the allegations.
The school issued a statement Thursday saying it was troubled by the sexual abuse allegations.
“We are currently investigating these reports and are committed to working with the survivors to find resolution and healing,” Punahou Director of Communications Robert Gelber said in the statement.
“In no uncertain terms, Punahou stands with survivors of sexual abuse everywhere, and we respect the courage it takes to report these incidents,” Gelber said.
Associated Press News Researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York contributed to this report.
