Former JROTC Instructor Faces Federal Charges in Connection to Sexual Exploitation of Former Student

Waimea High School’s former JROTC instructor was taken into federal custody on two counts of sexual exploitation of a child under the age of 18 for the purpose of producing child pornography.

Victor Aguilar, 65, was indicted on March 10 in 5th Circuit Court over allegations he had sexual relations with a former student on at least five separate occasions in 2020. According to the US Department of Justice, a criminal complaint was also filed in federal court and unsealed on March 25 upon the Army veteran’s arrest. The complaint states Aguilar kept photographs and videos of what appeared to be students and former students on his work-issued laptop and portable hard drive.

The complaint and affidavit allege Aguilar was his victim’s JROTC instructor and that he sexually exploited the minor victim in his home, in his vehicle, and at the high school at which he worked.

The investigation into Aguilar began in January when a different former Waimea High School student reported to the Department of Education that Aguilar reported touched her legs that made her uncomfortable.

The complaint also states that the former student found files of pictures on Aguilar’s laptop while preparing a graduation slide show.

“Each subfolder had the name of a different student,” the complaint states. “Inside each subfolder were pictures of the individual student in whose name the subfolder was labeled, frequently wearing bikinis or beachwear. The Former Student located one such subfolder containing pictures of herself in a swimsuit, and she was uncomfortable with it. The Former Student noted that the pictures appeared to be from social media and that the pictures of her appeared to be cropped.”

The complaint indicates that the subfolders date back as far as 2009 until recently. The videos form the basis for the federal criminal charges in the complaint.

“Our main focus is the victims of these heinous crimes,” said Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations Honolulu John F. Tobon. “Prosecuting predators hopefully brings some comfort to those victimized and to the community in general.”

Aguilar will make his first court appearance in United States District Court on March 29, at 9:30 a.m. before United States Magistrate Judge Rom Trader.

If indicted and convicted of the offenses in the complaint, the defendant would face a mandatory minimum of 15 years imprisonment and a statutory maximum of 30 years imprisonment on each count.

The State of Hawai‘i Department of Education’s Kaua‘i District is working to identify individuals whose images were stored on Aguilar’s devices or who otherwise may have been affected by the former instructor’s conduct, and is preparing a letter that will be sent to notify those individuals.

If you believe you or anyone else may have been affected, you may contact David Dooley, Equity Specialist, at 808-379-5299, or at 3060 Eiwa Street, Room 305, Lihue, Hawaii 96766.