Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Miami Herald
Miami Herald
National
David J. Neal

Florida father working for US military in Japan sought sex with a 13-year-old, gets 10 years in prison

MIAMI — A Highlands County, Florida, father and husband, working in Japan for a U.S. Department of Defense subcontractor, tried to consummate his monthslong online relationship with a 13-year-old girl by flying her to Northern Japan to have sex.

Whether or not Garrett Pako, 29, was conversing with an actual 13-year-old isn’t clearly stated by the Fort Pierce federal court paperwork. But Pako thought he was and he pleaded guilty to attempted coercion or enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity. Pako received the minimum 10-year sentence.

A court filing by Pako says the resident of Highlands County’s Venus area had been honorably discharged from the U.S. Air Force in 2018 after serving six years. During his time in the Air Force, he met and married his wife, with whom he has two kids, a 5-year-old and 3-year-old.

The wife and children lived in Japan, where, the indictment says, Pako was working in Shariki, Japan, at the Shariki Communications Site as a Chenega Security security guard.

Court documents and the U.S. Department of Justice say Pako met a girl he believed to be 13 on a dating app while traveling in Okinawa. From Feb. 13, 2020, through June 9, 2020, the man who also goes by “Kinky Bear” and “K. King” sent Hentai (pornography with anime content) cartoons of toddlers to the girl and a video of himself masturbating.

———

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.