BCSO, Feds Arrest Man For Attempted Sex Trafficking

By  //  March 8, 2014

Suspect advertised sex tourism on Craigslist

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – A joint investigation between the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office and the Immigration Customs Enforcement/Homeland Security Investigations, culminated March 7 with the arrest of 50-year-old, Patrick R. Minga, a former resident of Cape Coral, Florida.

A joint investigation between the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office and the Immigration Customs Enforcement/Homeland Security Investigations, culminated today with the arrest of 50-year-old, Patrick R. Minga, a former resident of Cape Coral, Florida. (BCSO image)
A joint investigation between the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office and the Immigration Customs Enforcement/Homeland Security Investigations, culminated today with the arrest of 50-year-old, Patrick R. Minga, a former resident of Cape Coral, Florida. (BCSO image)

Minga was arrested today after a Federal judge issued a criminal complaint charging him with attempting to induce and facilitate, for his own financial gain, the travel of an individual from Brevard County, Florida, to Quito, Ecuador, so that the individual could engage in illicit sexual conduct with minor girls.  If convicted, Minga faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison.

ADVERTISED SEX TOURISM BUSINESS ON CRAIGSLIST

The investigation found that Minga advertised, on Craigslist, a sex tourism business in Ecuador. Minga indicated that, for a fee, he could facilitate lodging, transportation, meals and unlimited access to females from Ecuador and Colombia.

An undercover agent from the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office who is a member of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations task force observed the ad and contacted Minga. Over the course of several months, Minga tried to induce and arrange the travel of the undercover agent from Florida to Quito, where Minga advised that he could provide sexual encounters with children as young as 13 years of age.

BCSO-BADGE-180An undercover agent from the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office who is a member of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations task force observed the ad and contacted Minga. Over the course of several months, Minga tried to induce and arrange the travel of the undercover agent from Florida to Quito, where Minga advised that he could provide sexual encounters with children as young as 13 years of age.

On March 2, 2014, Minga traveled from Ecuador to the United States, where he was met by agents from the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office and ICE/HSI who subsequently arrested him in Huntsville, Alabama. He is currently detained, pending removal proceedings before a United States Magistrate Judge in Birmingham, Alabama. Thereafter, he will be transported to the Middle District of Florida for further proceedings.

The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office Sexual Offender/Predator Registration and Tracking Unit, the Department of Homeland Security and the United States Attorney’s Office Child Exploitation Task Force is a multi-agency Partnership initiated to investigate dangerous offenders and predators who prey upon children.

Sheriff Wayne Ivey
Sheriff Wayne Ivey

Sheriff Wayne Ivey stated, “I am so proud of the tireless efforts by this Partnership and our investigative team that dismantled this vile operation. One that was designed specifically to cater to Internet predators for the sole purpose of harming children.  I am sickened by the activities of this individual and the child sex trade organizations that exist. Let there be no mistake, anyone who would do this to a child needs to be locked up for the rest of their life, where they can never harm anyone else.