HONOLULU - Attorney General Mark Bennett announced today that on September 8, 2008, Tyler Michael D.S. Wong, aka “michael1977onoahu”, was sentenced by the Honorable Randall K.O. Lee to 10 years in prison for the offense of Electronic Enticement of a Child in the First Degree. Mr. Wong is also required by law to register as a sex offender.
Wong used the internet to solicit a Honolulu Police Department detective, whom he thought was a 13 year-old girl, to meet him for sex at the old Kamehameha Swap Meet. He was arrested by police officers when he arrived at the meeting place. Wong pled no contest to the charge on May 15, 2008.
Because this case arose before May 16, 2008, Judge Lee had the option to sentence Wong to probation with one year in prison, but chose to impose the maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Under a new law (Act 80, Session Laws of Hawai`i 2008), courts must impose a mandatory sentence of 10 years in prison on Internet predators who commit Electronic Enticement of a Child in the First Degree after May 16, 2008.
"We will continue to seek out and prosecute Internet predators to the fullest extent of the law," Bennett stated. "Predators like Mr. Wong who are convicted, will receive mandatory 10-year sentences."
Because of the serious nature of this offense that targets children as victims, the Attorney General reminds parents and young people to be mindful of the potential for abuse of the Internet. To aid the public in recognizing the dangers of the Internet and to help them take protective measures, the Hawai`i Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force has created a web site, at www.hicac.com, that contains Internet safety tips and provides information on how to report any suspected illegal Internet activity that targets children.
Anyone having information concerning possible Internet crimes against children should call investigators at the Department of the Attorney General at (808) 586-1240.
Albert Cook is a Deputy Attorney General with the state of Hawaii
