Ka Leo O Hawaii

Issue date: 1/24/08 Section: News

Fossorier

Many people at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa could not believe that a tenured professor, with numerous awards for excellence in research, would solicit sex from a child on the Internet, but Kristin Izumi-Nitao, the deputy attorney general and director of the Hawai‘i Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, isn't surprised.

"The defendants in these cases can be anyone," she said. "They come from all walks of life and that pretty much is an indicator of how accessible the Internet is and how people believe they are anonymous."

Marc Fossorier, previously a professor of electrical engineering at UHM, was arrested October 29, 2007, for the electronic enticement of a child and will be sentenced March 5, 2008. The court is requiring him to remain on O‘ahu until sentencing.

Known by faculty, colleagues and students alike to be an accomplished professor, Fossorier's arrest and resignation came as a shock. Few of those who knew him would comment, although professor of electrical engineering N. Thomas Gaarder, a colleague of Fossorier's, said, "The department is carrying on. Various people have stepped in and fulfilled his various obligations. I think we're doing a good job of taking care of everything."

A junior in electrical engineering, who did not want to be identified and was previously a student of Fossorier's, said, "He was a very respectable man. I heard a lot of really good things about him as a teacher."

Like everyone, this student was stunned by his arrest. "I can't believe someone like him, who has written books, has been published, has done all these things and had all these things going for him - and then this happens. You don't know people by what you hear. It was very shocking."

Fossorier won two National Science Foundation Career awards. He received the Regents' Medal for Excellence in Research in 2002 and he carried an extensive publication record in his nine year teaching stint as a professor of electrical engineering.

He threw all of that away when he arrived at the Pearl Kai McDonald's on Oct. 29, 2007 to meet a 15-year-old girl he met on the Internet; the girl turned out to be an undercover police officer and his date turned out to be the day that ended his career.

According to the affidavit that established probable cause after his arrest, the relationship began on April 23, 2007, when Special Agent Vincente Domingo, a member of the Internet task force, logged onto Yahoo Messenger undercover as a 15-year-old girl. On that same day he was messaged by "peile44," Fossorier's screen name.

Over the months the two exchanged chats that became increasingly sexual in nature. The chats culminated in a meeting between the two on October 24 at McDonald's. Fossorier was arrested on October 29 and then later pled guilty on November 15 to one count of first-degree electronic enticement of a child in a Hawai‘i circuit court.

After his arrest Fossorier resigned from his position at the College of Engineering at UHM. "He has no tie at all to UH at this point," school spokesman Gregg Takayama said. "He no longer has an office here."

Fossorier now awaits sentencing on March 5, 2008, with $50,000 on bail before Judge Derrick Chan and a parole board. He faces at least a minimum year in jail and five years probation. According to Albert Cook, prosecuting Deputy Attorney General of the case, if the judge declares an open sentence, then a parole board, instead of the judge, would decide how long his term would be. The maximum sentence could be ten years in jail.

Cook said Fossorier must remain on O‘ahu because he does not have the court's permission to leave the jurisdiction before sentencing. Other than the posted bail and his obligation to stay on this island, he is free to do as he wishes because he has not been sentenced and convicted yet, Cook said.

The problem with the Internet, Izumi-Nitao said, is that people do not realize it is just another public place. This can get people into trouble when they say or do things they would never do elsewhere. The common victims of such a situation are children, who generally do not know better and lack a full understanding of the Internet.

Cook also said, "This crime is particularly disturbing as via the computer, a Defendant is able to go into a child's home and lure them into meeting them without a parent knowing."

In 2002 the Hawai‘i State Legislature recognized the vulnerability of children on the Internet by passing Section 707-756 of the Hawai‘i Revised Statutes, which details the act of enticing a child over the Internet as a crime. Accordingly the HICACTF was created to enforce the new statute. Since its inception, 22 individuals, including Fossorier, have been arrested - all first time offenders, according to Cook.

Although Izumi-Nitao believes the HICACTF is doing a lot of good, she stressed that the education and protection of children is paramount. She said preventative measures like teaching children to be careful about what they post and parental monitoring are the best ways to protect them.

"In the online community, everything is publicized," Izumi-Nitao said.

Timeline of events leading up to Fossorier's sentencing
• Online chats began April 23, 2007
• Agreed to meet up at Pearl Kai McDonald's Oct. 24, 2007
•Arrested Oct. 29, 2007
•Pled Guilty Nov. 15, 2007
•Currently awaiting sentencing March 5, 2008

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