A 76-year-old man accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl from Thailand allegedly paid the girl’s family to “adopt” her approximately five years ago, according to court documents detailing the alleged abuse.

George Alexis Theros, a part-time Maui resident, is in federal custody in Honolulu after he was charged with “engaging in illicit sexual conduct” involving the girl. If convicted, he faces up to 30 years in prison.

Theros was due to appear Friday in U.S. District Court for a hearing where federal prosecutors planned to request he be detained without bond, describing him as a flight risk and a danger to the community, especially young girls.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Rom Trader continued the hearing to Wednesday because Theros did not appear in court for medical-related reasons. Court documents indicate Theros has larynx cancer.

Theros arrived at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu from Thailand on July 24. Authorities in Panama had issued an arrest warrant for him that day for alleged crimes against the girl.

Agents initiated their investigation in early July after they were contacted by their law enforcement partners in Panama.

Agents of the Homeland Security Investigations in Honolulu conducted a search of his belongings and found a handwritten note with the the girl’s name in a notebook, as well as photos of a girl who appeared to be the same girl on one of his electronic devices.

Upon further investigation, agents arrested Theros on Tuesday.

Court documents said Theros initially met the girl when she was 9 years old in Thailand in 2014. He eventually met her parents and paid them an undisclosed amount of money to “adopt” her.

The girl moved in with Theros at his home in Thailand. She told authorities he allegedly “forced her to have sex with him.”

Court documents claim Theros continued to sexually assault her and physically abuse her when she refused to do things she did not want to do.

In March, Theros left Thailand with the girl and traveled to Panama where he was hired to work as a crew member aboard a boat. At the time, he was planning to transport himself and the girl to Hawaii. Theros described the girl as his daughter to other crew members.

In June one of the crew members said she saw Theros allegedly engaging in sexual activity with the then 14-year-old girl on the boat. The crew member reported the incident to the boat captain, who then contacted authorities.

Authorities took the girl into protective custody.

At some point Theros left Panama and fled to Thailand.

On July 24 federal agents located the girl’s parents in Thailand, where they said they have known Theros for five years and that he owns a 6-acre fruit farm in a village where they live. The parents told agents Theros wanted to bring the girl to Hawaii to give her a better education.

Court documents said the parents signed a document Theros drafted, but they said they did not know what the document said.

Federal agents found Theros’ profile on a website where users can contact potential crew members. In his profile introduction, he wrote, “I was raised in Hawaii and have been a waterman since childhood, sailing, surfing, free-diving, SCUBA diving and fishing. I am 75 years old. … My soon to be 14 year-old daughter and I wish to visit Central America and then sail back to Maui, Hawaii.”

Theros has a Hawaii driver’s license with a Maui address that was issued in May 2017. The license expired in July.