An Oahu grand jury indicted a 42-year-old Ewa Beach photographer on charges of promoting child abuse after he allegedly took nude photos of underage girls.
The grand jury Tuesday indicted Gilbert G. Sta. Ines on five counts of promoting child abuse. He turned himself in Wednesday to the Sheriff’s Office and posted $50,000 bail.
Sta. Ines’ arraignment is scheduled for Monday at Circuit Court.
According to a court document, he “disseminated child pornography” when he uploaded photos to the internet of the underage girls.
The offenses occurred between August 2014 and July 2015. The three girls were about 15 or 16 when the photos were taken.
Sta. Ines describes himself as a photographer and model scout on his Facebook page.
Honolulu Deputy Prosecutor Chris Van Marter said the mother of one of the girls was notified of nude photos of her daughter on the internet and reported it to law enforcement.
When a photo is uploaded, it can never be retrieved, said Chris Duque, a retired detective of the
Honolulu Police Department and leading expert on internet safety. Photos can be uploaded without the awareness of the people in them, without them knowing with whom it’s being shared, who’s looking at it or what their intentions are.
“Once we upload information, we have no control over it,” said Duque, who investigated internet crimes, including child pornography, during his 30-year career at the Police Department. He continues to do investigative work as well as educate the community about internet safety.
Police arrested Sta. Ines in July 2015 and released him pending further investigation.
He was indicted on three counts of promoting child abuse in the first degree for allegedly creating child pornography by photos or video. The offense is classified as a Class A felony and carries a maximum prison term of 20 years.
Sta. Ines was also indicted on two counts of promoting child abuse in the second degree for the alleged distribution of child pornography. The offense is a Class B felony that carries an indeterminate prison term of 10 years.
“The victims are cooperative, and they are very strong women, very courageous for coming forward,” said Van Marter. He declined to discuss further details of the case, saying more information would be revealed at trial.
