Hawaii Needs Stronger Legislation to Address Missing Children Cases
By Hawaii State Senator Will Espero
Cable news channels have been reporting on the missing 3 year old girl from Florida, Caylee Anthony, for some time. Her mother is in jail for child neglect, lying to the police, and for not reporting her child missing. Caylee’s disappearance is suspicious. It appears her mother did not report her missing for a month, and only upon the insistence and questioning from Caylee’s grandmother did the missing child become an issue. Caylee’s mother is not saying much now and if she is not the primary suspect, she certainly is a person of interest. Caylee’s grandmother did state she smelled what could be the odor of a dead person in her daughter’s car. Theories about the disappearance include an accidental drowning and being kidnapped by a babysitter.
This disappearance reminds me of the Peter Boy Kema case in Hawaii over a decade ago. Peter Boy’s parents said the boy was dropped off at Aala Park with an “auntie” on Oahu. No auntie was ever found, and there is no record that the auntie exists. Peter Boy is still missing, however, his sister reported seeing his dead body on 2 occasions. Unfortunately, I think his parents never spent a day in jail even though they are the primary suspects in Peter Boy’s disappearance.
This last Legislative session, I introduced SB2886 which would make it a crime if a parent or guardian leaves a child less than 14 years old with another person and the person’s true identity cannot be confirmed or the person cannot be found.
Strangely, the Honolulu Police Department testified against the bill, and gave no optional language to consider.
The state Department of Human Services declined to give testimony; disappointing in my opinion.
An amended bill made it to conference where it died. Next session I will introduce a similar bill. If parents may be involved in the disappearance of a child, our laws must have teeth to hold them accountable.
I understand one is innocent until proven guilty. At least Caylee’s mother is in jail right now until she cooperates more with law enforcement. It’s unfortunate Peter Kema’s parents did not spend any time in jail. Peter Boy’s case is still open. Let us hope justice prevails for him.
Senator Will Espero represents the 20th Senatorial District (Waipahu, Ewa, Ewa Beach and West Loch) on the Island of Oahu. He also serves as the Chair of the Senate’s Public Safety Committee.