Former Cape resident charged trying to setup ‘sex tours’
A former Cape Coral man is accused of trying to set up “sex tours” to Ecuador involving teens.
Patrick R. Minga, 50, was arrested and charged last week with attempting to induce and facilitate, for his own financial gain, the travel of an individual from Brevard County, Fla., to Quito, Ecuador, so that the individual could engage in illicit sexual conduct with minor girls, according to official documents.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison.
The documents state that in August 2013, an undercover agent for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Task Force found an ad on Craigslist for a sex tourism business in Ecuador. The advertiser, later identified as Minga, indicated that he could facilitate lodging, transportation, meals and unlimited access to females from Ecuador and Colombia for a fee of $1,395.
The agent contacted Minga, asking about the trip for himself and a small group of men.
Over the next two months, Minga allegedly tried to induce and arrange travel from Florida to Quito, where Minga advised that he could provide sexual encounters with minors as young as 13 and 14.
The agent and Minga communicated both by e-mail and over the telephone.
During the investigation, Minga allegedly advised that the encounters would take place in San Jose de Minas, where he “ran the whole town,” and that he has been involved in sex tourism for many years.
The documents state that Minga told the agent about a sexual encounter he had with two young girls. He explained that he searches for the girls in indigenous areas, where parents are not “educated.”
Minga reportedly also noted that he would go to jail in the United States for his actions in Ecuador.
On March 2, Minga traveled from Ecuador to Huntsville, Ala., and authorities made contact with him within days. He was detained and will be transported to the Middle District of Florida, officials said.
The case was investigated by the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.
Assistant United States Attorney Ilianys Rivera Miranda is prosecuting the case.