Former prison guard sentenced to 8 years in prison for sexually abusing inmates
By Jeremiah Estrada
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HONOLULU, Hawaii (KITV) — A former prison guard was sentenced to 8 years in federal prison on Thursday for sexually abusing three inmates at the Federal Detention Center in Honolulu.
Mikael Rivera, a 48-year-old Kapolei man, was sentenced on July 3 to 8 years in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release. Rivera served as a correctional officer at the detention center from 2014 to 2018 where he ordered inmates to engage in sexual acts with him between 2017 and 2018.
Rivera admitted to the sex abuse as part of his guilty plea in March 2025. While on duty, he made a female inmate participate in multiple nonconsensual sexual acts. Rivera also sexually abused two other inmates under his supervision.
According to court information, Rivera attempted to get away with it by leaving cell doors unlocked so that he could enter or escort his victims without being detected.
Before his guilty plea, he fled on the eve of the trial which triggered a days-long manhunt across Oahu.
At the sentencing, Judge Seabright imposed an upward variance for Rivera from the advisory sentencing guidelines range. He said that with respect to the offense conduct “there is nothing in mitigation, nothing I see but a gross abuse of Mr. Rivera’s position of authority within FDC, and a gross abuse of that power in sexually abusing these three inmates over one calendar year.”
Judge Seabright continued by saying, “His conduct was the exact opposite of what was intended. You were supposed to help, to rehabilitate those in your care. Instead, you preyed on them. You became a predator to them.”
“Correctional officers serve an invaluable role in our justice system, working in dangerous environments where they are entrusted to ensure order in our detention facilities and the safety of our inmates. While nearly all federal correctional officers are hardworking, ethical and honest, there are those very few who abuse their power over inmates. Their conduct erodes public faith in our institutions and justice system, and we must accordingly seek to investigate, prosecute and punish those who abuse vulnerable inmates in federal custody, said Acting U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson.
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