The U.S. Department of Justice is asking a judge to sentence a 47-year-old ex-prison guard from Kapolei to seven years in federal prison for raping female inmates and trying to skip town before trial.
Mikael Salvador Rivera, aka “Sanny, ” a former correctional officer at the Federal Detention Center, Honolulu, was originally charged in a 17-count indictment with six counts of sexual abuse by threats and 11 counts of sexual abuse of a ward.
On March 5, as part of his agreement with federal prosecutors, Rivera admitted his guilt to six counts of sexual abuse of a ward.
He previously pleaded not guilty to the allegations on Jan. 26, 2023, and was released on a $50, 000 unsecured bond ahead of trial, before he tried to run away.
On Dec. 3 Rivera was caught in the lobby of the Ala Moana Hotel after missing a hearing, the start of his trial and displaying “concerning behavior, ” according to federal court records.
Rivera resisted arrest by deputies with the U.S. Marshal’s Service who caught him in the lobby of the Ala Moana Hotel where he had been hiding. His pretrial release status and conditions were revoked and he is in custody at the FDC, Honolulu.
In a June 24 email to the court, one of Rivera’s victims wrote how, over time, she began to realize how “these events have impacted my day to day life and overall outlook on things.”
“I’m working on how to build healthy connections.
I still struggle with intimacy. I often just want to bury things and not bring them up. I also still don’t trust law enforcement. I feel that the defendant is just one of many predators that work in our jails and institutions, ” wrote the victim, a former inmate. “My hopes are that he can learn from this and be an example to others that they never take advantage of your position to meet your own physical needs.
A correction officer is supposed to keep us safe not use power and authority to break us down when we’re already at our lowest.”
Rivera is scheduled to to be sentenced Thursday at 10 a.m. before Senior U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright. He faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison on each count, three years of supervised release and up to a $250, 000 fine.
He must register as a sex offender after he gets out of prison.
In a June 27 sentencing memorandum, federal prosecutors noted that Rivera skipped town on the eve of his trial, re-victimizing the women prepared to confront their abuser in court. One of Rivera’s victims had flown to Oahu to testify.
Rivera’s sexual abuse of “several women under his control was brazen, prolonged, and prolific, ” according to court documents.
“This was not a one-time failure in judgment—it was a pattern of abuse that would have continued but for the bravery of his victims to come forward and report him, knowing that doing so may result in retaliation. That itself justifies the sentence the government recommends in this case, ” wrote Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara D. Ayabe.
Rather than face the victims in court, Rivera “did not return voluntarily despite repeated attempts ” and had to be apprehended after a “days-long manhunt across Oahu.”
Only after that did Rivera admit to sexually assaulting the inmates and plead guilty.
“The defense doesn’t have any comment at this time, ” Rivera’s attorney, Caroline Elliot, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
Rivera worked at FDC Honolulu as a correctional officer starting in 2014 and continuing until September 2018.
As part of his training as a correctional officer, Rivera was taught that he could not “maintain inappropriate relationships with inmates, including becoming emotionally, physically, sexually, or financially involved with inmates or former inmates, ” according to the Jan. 19, 2023, indictment.
In 2017 he initiated a sexual relationship with an inmate that lasted for months, sneaking the woman out of her cell for liaisons.
When the female prisoner was transferred to another facility, a review of Rivera’s digital communications revealed emails between the pair recounting their relationship behind bars.
In April 2018, Rivera “expressed sexual interest ” in another female inmate before violating her, according to court documents.
And in May 2018, Rivera started making “lewd and inappropriate comments ” toward another female inmate. He would “kick her door, and would stare into her cell ” despite the woman rebuffing his advances. On May 15, 2018, he left the woman’s cell unlocked, walked in, and ordered her to perform a sexual act.
The plea agreement documents three other sexual assaults of the woman by Rivera, including an incident where he raped her over a trash can after taking her out of her cell.
In 2022 a $100, 000 settlement was reached between Rivera and two former female inmates in a 2020 civil complaint. The women alleged Rivera sexually assaulted them in May 2018.
Rivera denied he sexually assaulted the two inmates, according to court records. The women also alleged detention center staff retaliated against them after they reported the assaults.
Two prison officials and the federal government were later dismissed from the civil lawsuit.