Now former Kansas sheriff’s deputy allegedly involved in inappropriate relationship with Fall River teen sentenced to prison in Kansas, Fall River case still pending

WICHITA, KAN – A Kansas man was sentenced to prison for enticing a Fall River, MA minor to create and send him child sexual abuse material.

According to court documents, Garrett Gayoso, 25, of Baxter Springs pleaded guilty to one count production of child pornography and was sentenced to 222 months in prison.

Gayoso met the 16-year-old Fall River, MA minor online. Evidence shows the victim was quickly forthcoming with Gayoso about her age. Gayoso groomed and convinced the victim to engage in sexually explicit activity, produce visual depictions of the conduct, and then send him the images via text messages. Between August 2024 and April 2025, Gayoso exchanged text messages with the minor that contained over 100 CSAM images.

“The defendant in this case was a law enforcement officer at the time this crime occurred. It’s deeply troubling that someone who took an oath to protect and serve the public would turn out to be someone from whom our society needs protection,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Kriegshauser. “Child predators are master manipulators. Children should be taught that any time someone directs them to keep secrets from trusted adults that is not someone with whom they should be communicating.”

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation investigated the case.

The Bristol County case is scheduled for a status review on July 13th.

Gayoso was arraigned in December 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. Bail was posted.

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 and 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. 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 at the time 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, 2025, 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, 2025, 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.

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. Among the message exchanges were 119 images of the victim nude. There
are also videos of the victim engaged in a sex act. The messages are filled with sexually explicit comments from Gayoso and also reveal the two had sex.

Gayoso was promoted in February 2025 and assigned to investigate online crimes against children.