15-03-2025
Convicted kidnapper Duncan Mahi sentenced to 30 years: Family and rescuers speak out
HILO, Hawaii (KHON2) — In a Hilo courtroom, Duncan Mahi sat silently as the judge handed down a 30-year prison sentence. He had pleaded 'No Contest' to two counts of kidnapping and one count of first degree sexual assault as part of a plea agreement.
'You had zip ties, you had tape, you had shackles. This evidence is planning and predatory and while I'm sure drugs played a role, you cannot blame your actions on drug use,' said Hawaii Third Circuit Court Judge Wendy DeWeese. 'You victimized two young people in a particularly cruel way. In a way from which they will probably never recover.'
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In September 2022, Mahi threatened the then 15-year-old teenager with a knife and forced her to tie up her boyfriend before she was abducted.
Court documents say the teen was shackled inside a yellow bus behind Mahi's home where she was held for nearly 22 hours, forced to smoke meth and was sexually assaulted.
The terrifying ordeal took a dramatic turn when the girl and Mahi entered Cafe Pesto in Hilo where two quick thinking good Samaritans recognized her from an Amber Alert. The two were in attendance at today's sentencing hearing.
'It's going to be a lifetime of healing I think for her, but I'm happy for her. I'm hoping this is a little bit of closure for her, so she can move on,' said Kori Takaki, who helped with the girl's rescue.
'I think she's the bravest one here,' said Bridge Hartman, who was the first to recognize her from the alert.'I'm so blown away by the courage of his young woman and the strength of this family and the commitment of this community to come together to support folks that have been through a parent's worst nightmare,' said the family's attorney, Jeffery Foster.
After the sentencing, the teen's parents thanked the community for their support and swift actions of those who helped rescue their daughter, who they also credit for helping to save herself.
'We're thankful that we still have our daughter with us,' said Derek Debina, the teen's father.
'She was so smart, she was so brilliant, she manipulated and outsmarted her abductor and she is her own hero,' said her mother Cherese Angelel.
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Prosecutors say the victim and her family were consulted in the plea agreement, which allows the victim from having to go to trial.
'We wanted to make sure that everyone in the community includes the victims in this case and their families had the ability to give the input and guide us in decision making process and we believe the end result is just,' said Kauanoe Jackson, deputy prosecuting attorney.
The state's second-ever activation of the Maile Amber Alert was during the search for the teen. This was also the state's first time using the wireless emergency alert system statewide. A Maile Amber alert can be triggered when police believe a child has been abducted and is in danger.
Amanda Leonard of the Missing Child Center of Hawaii says the successful recovery of the teen in this case proves the system works. The center serves as the statewide coordinator for the Maile Amber Alert.
'Maile Amber Alert is about galvanizing an entire community to search for an abducted child. Somebody might be in the right place at the right time that can see the child and take action to recover that child and then of course alert the police,' Leonard said.
The victim's parents say their daughter is doing excellent and happy to move with her life.
'At this point we all are, closure is a wonderful thing. And she's ready to head off to college,' Angelel said.
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