Honokaa man accused in Snapchat child enticement case ordered to undergo mental fitness evaluation

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A Honokaa man accused of using Snapchat to arrange a sexual encounter with a teenage girl will undergo a mental fitness evaluation, according to court documents.

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Kainalu Palik, 23, was arrested by undercover officers on Monday in a parking lot where police say he was expecting to meet a 14-year-old girl.

A judge on Thursday denied his attorney’s request for release, keeping bail at $50,000. A motion to suspend proceedings under a fitness examination was approved.

Court records reveal the girl’s older sister saw sexually explicit messages on the girl’s phone and called the police. Officers then seized the phone and continued messaging the suspect.

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Palik is one of two men charged with crimes relating to the platform this month. The company has said it’s doing all it can to keep predators off its platform.

Palik’s next court hearing is scheduled for July 28.

The company, Snapchat, has said it’s doing all it can to keep predators off its platform.

The platform has reportedly been linked to hundreds of thousands of child sex crimes globally, as experts say disappearing messages, location sharing, and algorithm-based friend recommendations make it a tool for predators.

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