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Part-time Maui resident arraigned on sex charge

Rosemarie Bernardo

A federal judge set trial for a part-time Maui resident accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl he “adopted” from Thailand five years ago.

An arraignment hearing for George Alexis Theros, 76, was held Thursday at The Queen’s Medical Center instead of federal court in Honolulu because he is undergoing treatment for stage III larynx cancer.

A federal grand jury indicted him last week, alleging he engaged in “illicit sexual conduct” with the girl. Theros, who has a home and 6-acre fruit farm in Thailand, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

He remains detained without bond under the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Rom Trader set Theros’ trial for October. If convicted, he faces up to 30 years in prison.

Theros first met the girl in Thailand when she was 9 years old in 2014. The government claimed he paid her parents an undisclosed amount of money to “adopt” her.

The girl moved in with him at his home in Thailand and allegedly forced her to have sex with him. The government alleged he sexually and physically abused 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 got a job as a crew member aboard a boat. He had planned to travel to Hawaii with her.

In June, one of the crew members saw Theros allegedly engaging in sexual activity with the 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.

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