Honolulu police whistleblower alleges retaliation, discrimination in suit

A Honolulu police detective alleges investigators delayed the pursuit of a missing baby by more than 48 hours and then retaliated against the detective when she tried to bring the negligence to light, according to a civil complaint.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Circuit Court, alleges HPD Detective Maile Rego, a 15-year veteran of the force, suffered sex discrimination, retaliation and whistleblow­er retaliation. Rego is assigned to the Child and Family Violence Detail in HPD’s Criminal Investigation Division.

Rego’s adversaries falsified a custodial complaint against her and attempted to block her appointment to a joint county, state and federal task force focused on finding missing and abused children who are in serious danger. Her supervisors and some colleagues in CID badmouthed her, questioned her caseload and undercut her reputation with false claims that she was a “rogue” detective, according to the complaint.

They also took cases away from her and discriminated against her for highlighting wrongdoing and police negligence by other detectives and their superiors, the complaint said.

Rego and her attorney, Joseph T. Rosenbaum, did not respond to emails and a phone message seeking comment.

In February she raised flags after investigators did not issue any missing-child alerts or input 18-month-old Kytana Ancog’s name into state and federal databases. Rego was able to locate the mother, according to court documents.

According to federal law, the National Child Search Act of 1990, HPD was required to enter Ancog’s name into the National Crime Information Center computer network within two hours of receipt of the missing-child notification, according to the complaint. NCSA and federal laws also require all relevant information should be made available within two hours to the “Missing Children Information Clearinghouse” within the state., the complaint read.

Ancog’s father, Travis Rodrigues, confessed to striking and shaking her until she became unresponsive, Honolulu police said in court documents charging him with second-degree murder in the toddler’s death. Rodrigues placed her lifeless body in a duffel bag and left her in a vehicle driven by a suspected accomplice, according to police.

Despite an islandwide all-points bulletin broadcast, detectives ”failed to recognize the urgency” of Ancog’s disappearance and “did not respond to the crime scene to institute or assist with appropriate search and investigative procedures.”

“The postponed investigative response and the delayed notification to other law enforcement partners severely hindered law enforcement’s effectiveness and efforts,” reads the complaint.

Rego also makes multiple allegations about CID leadership and said she reached out to the human resources department at HPD and received no response, according to the complaint.

HPD and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a partner in the task force Rego was assigned to, declined to answer questions about the lawsuit.

Krishna F. Jayaram, first deputy corporation coun­sel, told the Honolulu Star- Advertiser the office “will be reviewing the complaint and will respond at the appropriate time.”