Man pleads guilty to sex assault of Thai girl

A part-time Maui resident pleaded guilty Wednesday to sexually assaulting a 14-year-old from Thailand that he “adopted” five years ago.

George Alexis Theros was charged with “engaging in illicit sexual conduct” with the girl, whom he met in Thailand in 2014 when she was just 9 years old, according to court documents.

He paid her parents an undisclosed amount for the adoption and the girl moved in with him at his home in Thailand. The girl later told authorities he “forced her to have sex with him.”

Theros continued to sexually assault and physically abuse her when she refused to do things, the documents said.

In March, Theros left Thailand with the girl and traveled to Panama to work as a crew member aboard a boat and planned to go to Hawaii. Theros told other crew members the the girl was his daughter. In June, one of the crew members said she saw Theros allegedly engaging in sexual activity with the then 14-year-old on the boat and reported the incident to the captain, who contacted authorities.

Theros, who has larynx cancer, was unable to verbally answer questions due to a medical procedure so he typed his answers during the court hearing. Sentencing is scheduled for April 1 before Judge Leslie Kobayashi.