Now former Kansas sheriff’s deputy accused of alleged inappropriate relationship with Fall River minor facing federal charge

FALL RIVER, MA, KANSAS CITY, KS – A federal grand jury in Kansas City, Kansas, returned an indictment charging a former Kansas sheriff’s deputy with producing child sexual abuse materials. 

According to court documents and the Kansas Department of Justice, 25-year-old Garrett Gayoso of Baxter Springs was indicted on one count of sexual exploitation of a child – production of child pornography.

Gayoso allegedly enticed and coerced a minor under 16 years of age to engage in sexually explicit activity for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of such conduct.

After his initial appearance, Gayoso went before a federal judge for a detention hearing and was ordered to be remanded into custody until his trial which will take place in Wichita. 

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation is investigating the case.

According to the Galena Sentinel-Times, the indictment stems from the investigation involving a Fall River minor.

Gayoso was arraigned last month in Fall River Superior Court following a joint Kansas-Massachusetts investigation into his alleged inappropriate relationship with the juvenile.

Gayoso was previously arraigned in Fall River District Court on charges of distributing obscene material to a minor, posing/exhibiting a child in the nude, and posing/exhibiting a child in a sexual act, according to the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office. The court set a $1,000 cash bail with conditions prohibiting social media use and contact with the victim. Prosecutors sought a $10,000 bail, while Gayoso requested release on personal recognizance.

According to the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office in Kansas, on April 28th, the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by the Fall River Police Department. The Fall River Police Department advised that they were working on a case that involved a Deputy Sheriff who was employed by the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office. They were notified that their case involved an alleged inappropriate relationship between the deputy and the juvenile victim, who resides in Massachusetts. The Fall River Police Department was requesting assistance from the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office in furthering the investigation.

Detectives from the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office verified the validity of this information. A request was then made for assistance from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, due to the deputy being employed with the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office. The investigation was completed in conjunction with the Cherokee County Sherriff’s Office, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, and the law enforcement agencies in Massachusetts.

The deputy was immediately placed on administrative leave pending an internal and criminal investigation. The deputy has since resigned from the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office.

On May 9th, an arrest warrant was issued for Gayoso by the Bristol County Massachusetts District Attorney’s Office for the charge of Obscene Material.

On May 13th, the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office was made aware that the warrant was entered into the national law enforcement database with nationwide extradition. Efforts were made to contact Gayoso and take him into custody; however, he was not located. They were later contacted by his attorney, who advised that plans had been made for Gayoso to surrender himself to law enforcement authorities in Massachusetts.

According to court records, on November 13th, Gayoso was indicted in Fall River Superior Court.

In December he pled not guilty at arraignment and had bail set at $10,000 surety/$1,000 cash which had been posted.

The Galena Sentinel-Times noted that the mother of the victim found the communications and sexually explicit messages in April 2025, after a search of the victim’s laptop and cell phone. The devices showed that Gayoso began sending messages to her on or around August 17th, 2024.

Gayoso’s next scheduled court appearance in Fall River is a pretrial conference on February 18th.