Why Tuesday's Pimp Sentencing Is A Big Deal

Sara Lin/Civil Beat

Check out Waikiki's Kuhio Avenue any night of the week and you'll see prostitutes walking the sidewalks. Look around at who's watching the prostitutes and you might even see their pimps.

Police regularly arrest prostitutes, that's not the case with pimps. Bringing a pimp to trial is even less common — it's what makes Tuesday's sentencing of convicted pimp Joseph Vaimili to 40 years in prison a big deal.

"We don't see many cases like this because it takes so much to get to this point," Deputy Prosecutor Adrian Dhakhwa told the judge. "Prostitutes are victimized by their pimps. They are very afraid of even cooperating with the police. They're very afraid in having to come forward and testify in court."

Vaimili's case is remarkable for its violence — he beat a prostitute unconscious, broke a hotel-room lamp by smashing it against her skull and threatened her at gunpoint.

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