Hawaii prison guard gets eight years for sexually abusing inmates

A federal judge opted to add more years onto the correctional officer's sentence than the "shockingly low" two to three years recommended by federal guidelines.

by Jeremy Yurow, Court House News,  July 3, 2025

HONOLULU (CN) — Former correctional officer Mikael Salvador Rivera, 48, will serve eight years in prison for sexually abusing three female inmates while working as a prison guard. 

U.S. District Judge Michael Seabright issued the sentence that exceeded federal guidelines, which recommends 30 to 37 months for the six counts of sexual abuse of a ward Rivera pleaded guilty to. During sentencing Thursday, the George W. Bush appointee called the guidelines "shockingly low for this offense conduct."

"Your conduct was the exact opposite of what was expected of you," Seabright told Rivera. "You became a predator to them. You cared not about them or their well-being, but you were on some sort of a sick, twisted power trip that went on for almost a year."

The abuse occurred between 2017 and 2018, when Rivera worked at the Federal Detention Center in Honolulu. According to court documents, Rivera sexually abused one inmate for months in 2017, maintaining contact through email after her transfer. He then targeted a second inmate in 2018.

His third victim also faced increasingly brazen assaults. Prosecutors said Rivera would make inappropriate comments, stare into her cell and kick her door. When assigned to lock inmates' doors for the night, he deliberately left hers unlocked and entered to abuse her. On one occasion, he summoned her to the guard office and assaulted her in a janitor's closet.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Ayabe initially argued for a 7-year sentence.

"This case involved an incredible abuse of power that the guidelines simply do not account for, nor do the guidelines account for the degree of harm and the manner in which the defendant sexually abused the inmates," she said.

Ayabe highlighted how Rivera exploited his position of authority, telling the court: "He had enormous power over the inmates under his supervision and control. He could read their emails, he could listen to their phone calls, he could search their cells. He controlled nearly every aspect of their lives."

She said that Rivera's behavior escalated over time and that he deliberately avoided detection by using his knowledge of surveillance camera locations and his ability to control access to cells.

One of Rivera's victims, identified in court documents as L.T., addressed the court Thursday before he was sentenced. She described how Rivera's crimes had fundamentally changed her from someone who was "fearless in everything and everyone" to someone consumed by depression and distrust.

"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," she said. "My whole view of the world has changed. I used to believe that there was good in everyone. My view of any officer of the law is tarnished completely."

"I feel that seven years is laughable. I feel like it's a slap in the face to me, especially after he admitted that he did not have my consent," she added.

Rivera's case took an unusual turn when he fled before trial in December, prompting a multi-agency manhunt. His lawyer, Caroline Elliott, argued he was experiencing a mental health crisis rather than deliberately evading justice.

However, even Elliott acknowledged the severity of his crimes, herself proposing a sentence above federal guidelines.

"We have agreed that, in this case, a 60-month sentence is a just sentence, that we have agreed to an above-guidelines sentence. And I don't believe I've ever done that before in my career," Elliot said.

Rivera offered a brief apology himself. "I want to apologize for my wrongdoing. To the victims that I have hurt, I was charged with serious offenses. I caused significant pain and stress and offer my full apology," he said.

He also faces three years of supervised release after serving his sentence, along with mandatory sex offender registration and a ban on federal employment.

Prosecutors Ayabe and Nicole Lockhart secured the conviction after an investigation by the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General and the FBI.

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