A Honolulu prosecutor’s office investigator who was put on leave while he was investigated for obstructing his own domestic violence case has been reinstated under circumstances legal experts are calling absurd.
Last year, investigator Christopher Moon’s then-girlfriend accused him of domestic violence — specifically head-butting her in the face — and he was arrested. The woman recanted her complaint a few days later and, as a result, the Attorney General’s Office declined to charge Moon with abuse.
But months later, the woman told Moon’s supervisor that Moon had forced her to withdraw her complaint and even impersonated his chief to manipulate her. In text messages pretending to be his chief, the investigator raised the prospect that his partner could lose custody of her child, investigative files show.
Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney Steve Alm’s office launched an administrative investigation into its employee, Moon, for allegedly obstructing his own case and witness tampering, among other claims. But before the office approached Moon with its findings, the office abruptly dropped the matter, and Moon — who had been on paid leave for five months — was brought back to work…