Select an option below to continue reading this premium story.
Already a Honolulu Star-Advertiser subscriber? Log in now to continue reading.
The U.S. Department of Justice said Wednesday it arrested a 76-year-old man in Hawaii and charged him with engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place.
George Alexis Theros was charged with sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl on a boat in Panama, said Kenji Price, U.S. attorney for the District of Hawaii, in a news release.
The news release quoted witnesses who said that years ago in Thailand Theros paid the girl’s family to “adopt” her when she was 9 or 10. The girl lived with Theros, the witnesses said. Theros traveled with the girl from Thailand to Panama and planned to transport her to Hawaii on a boat, the witnesses said. Theros was arrested in Hawaii on Tuesday, officials said.
“If your goal is to sexually exploit children, we’ll do everything in our power as a federal law enforcement community to find a home for you in federal prison,” Price said.
No cause determined in fatal Palolo fire
The Honolulu Fire Department said Wednesday it was unable to determine the cause of Monday’s house fire in Palolo that left one man dead.
“Fire investigators have completed their investigation and have classified the cause of the fire as undetermined,” HFD said. “Fire investigators reported that due to the extensive amount of damage found, a cause for this fire could not be determined.”
A male victim in his 60s was found inside a bedroom at the home at 3290 Kalua Place. It was the fourth fire fatality on Oahu this month.
“The residence did not have working smoke alarms and it did not have fire sprinklers. The HFD will continue to advocate for fire sprinklers in buildings. It is the most effective way to protect your property and safeguard lives from a fire,” HFD said.