Paralympic skier, accused of trying to sexually abuse two kids, says his plan was to ‘humiliate’ their mother

A Paralympic skier who was caught in a child abuse sting tried to argue that he was actually acting as a “vigilante” trying to “humiliate” the victims’ mother.

Gilbert Camacho, 24, of New Jersey, was arrested after he traveled to Lehi, Utah, in hopes of sexually assaulting what he believed were two young girls, aged five and eight, after he met who he believed was their mother online, police said.

When Camacho arrived for the meeting on Tuesday, he was greeted by an undercover officer from the Lehi City Police Department.

Camacho is facing two counts of attempted rape of a child and two counts of attempted sodomy of a child, according to Utah County Jail records. The suspect, who police say was a member of Puerto Rico’s Paralympic ski team, was held without bail on Thursday.

Camacho was communicating with someone he thought was the mother of the two minors, investigators said. After sending a spate of sexually explicit messages, he then arranged a time and place to meet the woman so he could sexually abuse the children, according to an arrest affidavit first obtained by KSL News.

According to the affidavit, police found a gun inside his truck as well as a specific candy which the officer had requested that he bring.

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Upon being questioned by police, Camacho alleged that he was associated with the “Miami Avengers,” a group seeking out individuals who try to meet children for sex with encounters posted across social media.

According to the affidavit, Camacho said that he “never intended on sexually abusing the children.”

Instead, the suspect told police that he intended “to humiliate and possibly assault the mother as more of a vigilante-type conduct.”

Camacho alleged that he only spoke of “wanting to sexually abuse a 5 and 8-year-old girl to gain trust with the mother,” the affidavit states.

The suspect also claimed that he was not capable of sexually assaulting a child in the way he described in messages to the undercover officer due to not having any legs, authorities said.

The athlete lost both his legs following an accident in August 2020 after being hit by a “drunk driver” in Newark, according to a GoFundMe appeal created by his sister.

In addition to being a paralympian, a profile on the National Ability Center’s website listed him as a member of the alpine ski team. The profile has since been removed.