HONOLULU – Aaron A. Hood, 42, of Honolulu, Hawaii pleaded guilty today in federal court to one count of possession of child pornography. This guilty plea occurred on the second day of Hood’s jury trial involving a separate charge of production of child pornography. Under the terms of the plea agreement, the parties agreed to a recommended sentence of 10 years of imprisonment and a 25-year term of supervised release. Sentencing is scheduled for January 30, 2020 before U.S. District Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi.

According to U.S Attorney Kenji M. Price, the government alleged during trial that Hood met the 14-year-old minor female victim on January 23, 2016, outside the store where he worked in Waikiki. The minor had run away from home. Over a four-day period, Hood provided the minor with cocaine, marijuana, and alcohol, and had her stay in an apartment that he had access to, which was located behind the store where he worked. During that time, Hood engaged in sexual activity with the minor and took photos and videos of her engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security (Homeland Security Investigations), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Honolulu Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Margaret Nammar and Rebecca Perlmutter.

Notably, this is the second child pornography trial handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Hawaii within the past month. On August 27, 2019, a federal jury in Honolulu, Hawaii found defendant Grant Manaku, 34, of Kauai, Hawaii guilty of one count of possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Price.