‘Lord Of The Flies’: How Hawaiʻi’s Model Foster Dad Preyed On Boys
John Teixeira answered a desperate need for the state: Where to put boys no one else would take. He’d eventually take in almost 60. But there would be a cost.
When No One Is Watching
This series examines a foster home rife with sexual and physical abuse for two decades as a case study of dysfunction in Hawaiʻi’s child welfare system.
Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025
Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025
‘You Take What You Can Get’: Hawaiʻi Brushed Off Signs Of Abuse At Foster Home
Some boys tried to warn about what was happening, but their reports were discounted or ignored.
Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025
The Fallout: Life After Aging Out Of An Abusive Foster Home
The former foster sons of John Teixeira were left to find their way in the world. Some made it. Some did not.
Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025
Foster Home Abuses Were Secret For Years. A Lawsuit Exposed Them
The foster sons of John Teixeira had told almost no one about the abuse they suffered in his household. Then they started to talk.
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Photo: Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025
State Tries To Seal Foster Care Files To Protect Info It Already Revealed
When Civil Beat sought exhibits in the trial of an abusive Hawaiʻi foster dad, the Attorney General’s Office intervened to prevent “family trauma” from becoming public. It already had.