A married couple has been banned for life from all Hawaii State Department of Education property following an assault of a school official.
As reported by KHNL/KGMB in Honolulu, a parking lot surveillance camera outside Moanalua High School's gym recorded the Dec. 4 incident, when Aukusitino Noga, 40, allegedly assaulted Moanalua High School associate athletic director Natalie Iwamoto.
The video appears to show Noga and his wife, Jamilee Noga, confronting Iwamoto as she was accompanying basketball referees to the parking lot so they could leave. It shows Noga punching Iwamoto, who weighs 135 pounds, as she walks backward away from him and falls over a small child.
The Nogas were in court Wednesday for a hearing on a temporary restraining order filed by Iwamoto.
Noga, an adult corrections officer with the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, pleaded not guilty to Class C felony second-degree assault, which carries a penalty of five years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
With the assistance of the deputy sheriffs, the Nogas were issued a lifetime ban from all Department of Education public school campuses and properties following the incident.
“This particular situation with the egregiousness of the behavior that happened, calls for a permanent statewide ban on all DOE property,” said schools superintendent Keith Hayashi.
Iwamoto told KHNL/KGMB that she suffered a concussion and swelling in face, though she appeared to have no physical sign of the attack.
Roughly 100 people from the school and athletics community clapped for Iwamoto as she left the courtroom, which left her in tears.
“It’s just unacceptable," said Brandy Richardson, Kamehameha-Kapalama athletics director and basketball official. "More needs to be done. Nat was at the receiving end of it, but it happens time and time again to officials to coaches and even athletic directors. You look at the outpouring of support.”
Sports leaders say they want safer games and the HIDOE says it’s working with principals and athletic directors to review safety protocols.
In a separate KHNL/KGMB article, Cienna Pilotin reports that sports officials fear the widely publicized incident does not bode well for their recruitment efforts, with more than 40 basketball vacancies already in the state.
Video of the Dec. 4 basketball game when Moanalua High School lost to Mililani allegedly shows the couple shouting at referees, including expletives and a racial reference, KHNL/KGMB reported earlier this week.
“I expect that this may result in a loss of some of our officials,” said Matthew Sumstine, the state’s director of football officials who works closely with all high school sports. “This is a big blow to officiating recruiting and retention and we’re going to have to make changes in order to advocate for officiating to bring more officials in. We’re doubling up sports. We need more officials and we’re going to have to increase our security.”
