Former resident pleads guilty to underage ‘sex tours’
A former Cape Coral man has pleaded guilty to trying to set up “sex tours” involving teens.
On Wednesday, Patrick R. Minga, 50, entered the plea to attempting to induce and facilitate, for his own financial gain, the travel of an individual from Brevard County, Florida, to Quito, Ecuador, so that the individual could engage in illicit sexual conduct with minor girls, according to federal officials.
He faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison.
Assistant Federal Public Defender Stephen Langs is representing Minga.
He did not return a message Friday seeking comment on the case.
Court documents state that in August 2013, an agent with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Task Force found a Craigslist ad for a sex tourism business in Ecuador. The advertiser, identified as Minga, indicated that he could facilitate lodging, transportation, meals and unlimited access to females from Ecuador and Colombia for $1,395.
The agent contacted Minga, asking about a trip for himself and a small group of men.
Over the next two months, Minga tried to induce and arrange travel from Florida to Quito, where Minga advised that he could provide sexual encounters with minors as young as 13 and 14.
The agent and Minga communicated by e-mail and over the telephone.
During the investigation, Minga advised that the encounters would take place in San Jose de Minas, where he “ran the whole town,” and that he has been involved in sex tourism for many years.
The documents state that Minga told the agent about a sexual encounter he had with two young girls. He explained that he searches for the girls in indigenous areas, where parents are not “educated.”
Minga also noted that he would go to jail in the United States for his actions in Ecuador.
In March, Minga traveled from Ecuador to Huntsville, Ala., where authorities made contact with him within days. He will remain detained pending further proceedings, according to officials.
Minga’s sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 20.
Assistant United States Attorney Ilianys Rivera Miranda is prosecuting the case.