Hawaii News Now - KGMB and KHNL HomeMan pleads guilty to videotaping sex assault on infant daughter
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Douglas Chin
Danny Friddle
HONOLULU (KHNL) - An Oahu man admits he sexually assaulted his infant daughter while a video camera was rolling. Danny Friddle, a former security guard, now faces life in prison.
With just a week left before his scheduled trial and videotape evidence against him, Friddle decided to change his not guilty pleas Monday. The move comes with a heavy price.
As a security guard, his job was to protect the public. As a father, his job was to protect his child.
Prosecutors say Danny Friddle failed miserably.
"What Danny Friddle did was shocking," Douglas Chin, deputy prosecutor, said. "It was despicable. It was an outrage to the entire community."
"Sexual assault in the first degree, what are your pleas?" Patrick Border, Circuit judge, asked the defendant.
"Guilty," Friddle replied.
The 31-year-old shows no emotion as he pleads guilty to 11 counts of sex assault and three counts of promoting child abuse.
His work identification and a video of him performing sexual acts on his baby girl were found in a bag at a bus stop in Kalihi.
"A child came across the tape originally, showed it to their parent, and the parent turned it into the police," Chin said. "It's actually an example of one child saving another."
When KHNL News 8 confronted Friddle the day of his arrest in March, he said he knew nothing about it. Now, he changes his story and agrees to a sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole.
"He's accepting responsibility," Chin said. "And for that, he is willing to take the maximum sentence possible."
Friddle's attorney had no comment.
Under a plea deal, prosecutors will ask for a 20-year minimum prison term when the case goes before the Hawaii parole board.
"If anyone ever feels even tempted to physically or sexually or emotionally abuse a child, they need to get help," Chin said.
Friddle must register as a convicted sex offender for the rest of his life.
He'll be formally sentenced February 12, 2009.
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