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Federal prosecutors want a 43-year-old Kailua-Kona man held in custody without bail pending the outcome of a case in which he is charged with using a 15-year-old girl in sex trafficking and taking pornographic pictures and video of her.
Michael Phillip Patrakis made his first appearance in U.S. District Court on Monday on 27 counts of producing child pornography and one count of sex trafficking of a minor. Six of the child pornography charges involve the teenage girl’s 2-year-old daughter. Federal prosecutors filed the charges Thursday.
U.S. Marshals Service deputies took Patrakis into custody Friday, after Hawaii County prosecutors had a related state case dismissed. He was arrested by Hawaii County police in September, charged with promoting child abuse, kidnapping, drug possession and other charges and later released on bail. Patrakis was taken back into custody after a judge revoked his bail in December for violating the terms of his release.
Patrakis faces a maximum 30-year prison term for each of the federal child pornography charges and up to life in prison for the sex trafficking.
Prosecutors filed legal papers Friday asking the court not to allow bail for Patrakis.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Richard L. Puglisi scheduled a hearing on the government’s request for Wednesday.
Federal investigators said in court papers that the teen and her daughter moved into Patrakis’ home in March 2015.
Investigators said the girl told them Patrakis arranged for her to have sex for money through advertisements on Craigslist. The federal agents said she used some of her share of the profits to buy drugs from Patrakis.
They also said the girl told them Patrakis took her to Waikoloa in late November to have sex with three men in exchange for heroin.